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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24154960">Double Entendre</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen'>bansheequeen (queenbanshee)</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian'>xtremeroswellian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Smallville</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Banter, F/M, Flirting, Fundraisers, Ollie is struggling, Queen Industries, Recruitment, Secret Identities, Spying</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:00:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>29,433</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24154960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He watched her intently, still tense. "I had no idea I had fans outside the media."</p><p>"Fans?" She smirked, shaking her head, "we've been doing this a lot longer than you have, Green Arrow. You need to reign in that ego." She told him, turning her head to look at him.</p><p>"Who are you?" he asked again, shaking his head and taking a step toward her.</p><p>"Watchtower," she repeated, arching her eyebrows and turning to face him but not backing away.</p><p>"And you're part of a team of other superheroes?"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chloe Sullivan &amp; Arthur Curry, Chloe Sullivan &amp; Bart Allen, Chloe Sullivan &amp; Victor Stone, Oliver Queen &amp; Chloe Sullivan, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Most people got nervous when they were about to start a new job. A lot of them wondered if their boss would like them, if they would manage to get through all their tasks without much help, if they would understand the systems they had to work with correctly, if their co-workers would be nice. Chloe Sullivan was no different except, she wasn't worried about any of those things in particular.</p><p>Today was her first day at Queen Industries, as Mr. Queen's assistant nonetheless and she hadn't even met the guy yet. She had read all about him, of course, which was why she was there in the first place, but she wouldn't focus on <i>that</i> just yet. She had to focus on convincing him she was exactly who she was telling him she was.</p><p>With a deep breath, she knocked on his office door and when he called her to come in, she opened the door slowly, giving him her best nervous smile, "Mr. Queen?" She said, stepping into the room carefully, "Chloe Sullivan, I-- HR sent me?"</p><p>He looked up from a pile of paperwork, a slightly startled expression on his face. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he regarded her for a moment, appearing uncertain. "Sent you for--?"</p><p>She paused at how he looked and straightened a little, for all she read about how much of a charmer he was, he kind of looked like crap and certainly wary. Maybe he had some idea of what was going on, "I'm your new assistant?" She told him.</p><p>Oliver pursed his lips, studying her intently for a few seconds, then nodding. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Sullivan."</p><p>Chloe smiled at him, doing her best to still look nervous and not ask him any questions, "they gave me a copy of your schedule," she told him, lifting the folder she had in her hand slightly, "please let me know if there is something specific I should do."</p><p>He nodded a little. "Did anyone show you your work area?"</p><p>"No, not yet," she said sincerely.</p><p>Of course not, he thought. HR was a little too busy breathing down <i>his</i> neck to be bothered doing their actual jobs. He smiled faintly, rising to his feet and stepping out from behind the desk, his shirt slightly wrinkled. "It's just right outside my office," he told her, nodding toward the door.</p><p>"Oh," she said when she saw him standing up, "I don't want to bother you, I'm sure you're busy... I can probably figure it out."</p><p>Oliver shook his head a little, extending his hand to her. "It's no bother."</p><p>Chloe guessed the snooping around would have to wait, but at least he seemed nice, nodding, she shook his hand, "thank you, Mr. Queen."</p><p>"You're welcome," he said quietly, shaking her hand in return, meeting her eyes for a moment and holding his breath.</p><p>She held his gaze, searching his eyes even as she shook his hand. He seemed exhausted, but there was more to it, a lot more.</p><p>Not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable--especially on her first day--Oliver let go of her hand, motioning her to follow him to the smaller outer office right outside his own. He winced at the state her desk was in; papers and files were scattered everywhere, much like his own. No wonder his last assistant had quit.</p><p>Chloe followed him at his silent request and looked at the desk, the mess didn't bother her much, in fact, it looked a lot like her own desk back in Metropolis. "How long has it been since your last assistant?" She asked.</p><p>"Three months?" Three months since she'd quit, stating there was too much to do and she like, <i>had a life.</i> Three months that the board and HR had been watching him closely, no doubt waiting for him to mess something up so badly they'd finally have their excuse to get rid of him completely.</p><p>"Oh." She frowned, eyes narrowing slightly as she looked down at the desk, "I'm sure that hasn't been easy on you."</p><p>"I've been dealing the best I can," he said nonchalantly.</p><p>Chloe smiled slightly at him and shrugged, "hopefully I can make your life a little easier."</p><p>He gazed at her for a moment, then forced a smile. Like HR hadn't sent her to make his life more difficult. "That'd be nice," he said quietly.</p><p>"I should... probably get started on this," she said, waving her hand at the stacks of paper. She was more than eager to see if she could find something in there.</p><p>"All right. If you have any questions--<i>any</i> at all, don't hesitate to ask. I'll keep my door open," he said with a small smile.</p><p>"Thank you, Mr. Queen." She told him, smiling at him and nodding slightly before starting toward the desk. She had a lot to uncover and if the way he looked was any indication about how bad things were, she had to do it quickly.</p><p>Nodding a little, he gazed at her a moment longer, hoping that his gut was correct and she really just wanted to do the job, and not that his mind was right, telling him she had ulterior motives. He headed back into his office, leaving the door open as promised.</p><p>* * *</p><p>She spent the day sorting the papers and documents on his desk, the office was quiet and there hadn't been anyone around, the only noises were the ones she was making and the constant typing from his office with the occasional short phone calls, so she heard it when he started moving around and quickly shoved a pile of documents that seemed to be of her interest under another big, messy pile so he wouldn't pay attention to it in case he came around.</p><p>He rubbed a hand over his face tiredly as he headed out of his office, pausing when he saw Chloe was still there. His eyebrows furrowed a little. "You know technically you don't have to be here past five, right?"</p><p>Chloe blinked at that and did her best to feign surprise, "oh? It's past five already?"</p><p>Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, it is," he said, nodding.</p><p>"I didn't realize," she said, smiling up at him and standing up straight, "I will gather my things and start home then, is there anything I can do for you?"</p><p>She had a pretty smile. Actually she was very pretty, period. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, shaking his head. "No. But you have a good evening."</p><p>"You too, Mr. Queen," she told him, watching him closely as she reached for her purse and started to go through it, pretending to be looking for her keys in hopes he'd leave first.</p><p>He hesitated a moment, then rubbed the back of his neck, leaving her office and heading for the elevator. At the very least he was going to need to run across the street to the deli and grab something to eat for dinner.</p><p>Chloe blew out a breath in relief and shoved the stack of papers she had separated in her purse quickly, when she heard the elevator going down, she pulled out the micro cameras and carefully glanced down the hall then made her way into his office.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By Friday that week, Oliver was exhausted. He'd been sleeping very little between his ongoing battle at QI and his nightly activities. Which was why he'd stopped by one of the local coffee shops and bought two large coffees, as well as a handful of sugar and cream--something he rarely <i>ever</i> did before he headed into the office. He wasn't entirely surprised to find Chloe already at her desk, early as usual, and talking on her cell phone, looking very worried about something.</p><p>"No." She said tightly but quietly, "you can't go without Bart." She was quiet for a moment, "I know, Victor, but we can't risk it, especially when it comes to the Lut--" she stilled when she felt movement behind her, "I gotta go."</p><p>Feeling oddly guilty for interrupting what seemed to be an intense conversation, Oliver winced a little as she hung up her phone. "Thought you might like some coffee," he said quietly, setting one of the cups on her desk, along with a few packets of sugar and cream.</p><p>Chloe blinked and looked up at him, this time, sincerely surprised that he was offering her coffee, they had barely exchanged words since Monday, "oh, always. Thank you." She told him, trying for a smile.</p><p>Nodding, he started toward his office, then paused, turning to look at her again. "How's your first week been?"</p><p>"Not bad," she told him, trying to pull herself together and focus on this conversation rather than the one she'd been having with Vic. "Although, admittedly, I expected you to give me more to do."</p><p>He raised his eyebrows a little. "You mean aside from uncovering the desk from the mountain of paperwork that it was covered in...?"</p><p>"I'm a great multi-tasker," she told him, arching her eyebrows slightly and sipping on the coffee.</p><p>"Good to know," he told her, watching her for a moment. "What are your specialties?"</p><p>"I'm good with computers," she told him, "I have a degree in Journalism but you already have your whole PR team to handle <i>that</i>," she said with a smile.</p><p>Oliver stared at her. "You have a journalism degree?" he echoed, honestly surprised.</p><p>"I do," she told him, nodding slightly, "doesn't pay nearly as well as this does, though."</p><p>"I suppose not, but how long do you think you'll be personally satisfied doing something you're overly-qualified for?"</p><p>Chloe shrugged a little, "I'm still a freelance writer, like I said, I'm good at multitasking." The last thing she needed was for him to decide he didn't want to keep her because he wanted someone who'd stick around.</p><p>He was quiet for a moment. "You know, maybe..." He hesitated.</p><p>Her heart skipped a beat and she stared at him. He was gonna tell her maybe she was better off finding something else and she had completely ruined things in the one time they actually had something that resembled a conversation, "yes?"</p><p>"Maybe what we need here is a newsletter," he said, still sounding hesitant, unsure. "Something that will help keep everyone more in the loop with what's going on both professionally and personally."</p><p>Chloe paused and blinked at him, arching her eyebrows a little, sincerely surprised at the suggestion, "oh." It was definitely the opposite of what she had expected, "I can do that," she nodded slightly, "I don't really know anyone here yet, but... if you have suggestions on what kind of thing you would want to print, I can start working on it."</p><p>"Do you think it's a good idea?" he asked, watching her carefully. "And you don't have to say yes just because you work for me. Really."</p><p>"I don't know the company as well as you do," almost as well as she did if her hours of research were anything to go by, but he didn't need to know that, "but I think any attempt to make the employees feel like they are informed and that they are being thought of is a good thing."</p><p>He leaned against his doorframe, sipping his coffee and nodding a little, offering her a small smile. "Cool."</p><p>She smiled back at him and nodded a little, "I can make an online version of it so we can keep it green?" She suggested.</p><p>"That's a great idea," he agreed, nodding, as well. "And I'm completely open to any and all ideas you might have."</p><p>"I'll give it some thought," she assured him, smiling a little more, "thank you, Mr. Queen."</p><p>He couldn't help but smile back at her. "You're welcome." He winked at her without thinking about it before ducking into his own office.</p><p>Chloe held her breath at that, then turned to look back at her screen, smiling softly to herself. He was obviously one of the nice guys, which just made her more sure of well, everything. She would just have to do her best to make the newsletter impressive and hopefully, both of them could benefit from it.</p><p>* * *</p><p>Oliver glanced toward the pretty blond at her computer desk a few hours later, watching as she worked intently, silent. His stomach growled and he sighed a little, resting his arms on his desk. "Hey, Chloe?"</p><p>She lifted her head and arched her eyebrows, a little surprised since she'd been so focused on the newsletter, she stood up and walked by the door to his office, "Mr. Queen?"</p><p>He offered her a small smile. "Are you hungry? I was thinking about ordering something in. My treat," he offered.</p><p>She looked even more surprised at that but smiled, nodding, "I could eat, if you tell me what to order and where, I can do that," she offered, it was supposedly her job, anyway.</p><p>A faint smile touched his mouth. "I know there are a lot of rumors floating around about me, but I can actually call for delivery," he told her with amusement. "What sounds good?"</p><p>"If I believed the rumors I wouldn't have accepted this job, Mr. Queen," she pointed out, smiling at him, "I'll eat pretty much anything." And the truth was, she didn't know many places around the office.</p><p>He cocked his head, watching her for a moment. "Chinese food?"</p><p>"That works for me, chicken lo mein?" She said, smiling at him.</p><p>Oliver smiled back faintly, nodding a little and picking up his phone, dialing a number and placing their orders. When he was done, he glanced up at her once more. "Make yourself comfortable," he told her, nodding toward the sofa.</p><p>Chloe arched her eyebrows, a little surprised at the invitation but made her way to the offered seat and sat down, "thank you."</p><p>"Sure thing. I have bottled water, if you'd like one," he offered, rising to his feet and nodding toward the little bar in the corner.</p><p>"Sounds good," she said, nodding slightly but keeping her eyes on him. She had only been there for a week, so she had no idea if this was usual behavior for him, if she should be uncomfortable or... she paused, arching her eyebrows slightly. Or maybe, if he suspected something.</p><p>He moved over to the bar, pulling two cold bottles of water from the mini-fridge and moving over to sit in one of the chairs after handing her a bottle.</p><p>She kept her eyes on him, searching his expression for anything that might indicate she was right, "thank you," she said again, opening the water bottle and sipping on it before speaking, "do you have a lot of work to catch up on?"</p><p>He glanced toward his desk at the very-slowly dissipating pile of paperwork and grimaced a little. "I'm getting there," he said vaguely.</p><p>Chloe eyed the pile on his desk then shrugged a little, "is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, doing her best to keep her voice and her expression neutral.</p><p>Oliver shook his head a little. "I'm just making my way through various business deals that QI was involved in over the past couple years," he admitted, his own voice neutral.</p><p>"Oh," she kept her eyes on him, this was a good chance for her to get more information on the situation, "from while you were gone?" It was, after all, common knowledge that he'd been assumed dead,  she just had to be careful not to let him know she knew as much as she did.</p><p>"Some of it, yes," he said, nodding a little. "Some from after."</p><p>"I'm sure it's a lot to catch up on, why did you remain without an assistant so long?" She asked, this time genuinely curious.</p><p>"Actually I had one until a few months ago. She quit unexpectedly," he told her honestly.</p><p>"That's still a long time for someone like you," she pointed out, "mind me asking why she quit?"</p><p>He raised his eyebrows, sat up a little straighter and made his eyes wide. "Like, I'm tired of spending eight hours a day behind a desk. Like, I need a life, okay?"</p><p>Chloe blinked at not only the words, but the way he said it and although she was still tense, she still grinned, amused, "wow... where did you <i>find</i> her?"</p><p>He cracked a smile. "I didn't. HR sent her, too. At least they sent me someone who doesn't snap her chewing gum every two minutes this time."</p><p>She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "I don't have a gum addiction, just a caffeine one."</p><p>"Relieved to hear it, but you should be careful with the caffeine intake, too," he said with a small smile. "It's not good for you."</p><p>"I'm a lot worse without it," she told him, smirking, "trust me."</p><p>Oliver raised his eyebrows. "I'll consider myself warned."</p><p>Chloe smiled softly and nodded, "anything I should know?"</p><p>"About?" He cocked his head, watching her closely.</p><p>"Your preferences? What to do when you're in a bad mood or when something big is going on?" She asked, sipping on her water again.</p><p>"Don't worry. I won't take bad days or bad moods out on you," he assured her.</p><p>"That's an improvement," she said, smiling at him. So maybe he didn't suspect anything, or maybe he was waiting for her to let her guard down, so she wouldn't do that, but she would allow herself to relax a little.</p><p>He frowned. "Meaning your last boss <i>did</i> take things out on you?"</p><p>"Not exactly," she told him, "but we knew that if his face was bright red, we shouldn't go anywhere near him."</p><p>He bit back a smile at that. "I see."</p><p>"So any physical queues, that would be helpful." She smiled.</p><p>"Truthfully I don't really tend to lose my temper," he said with a slight shrug. At least not when he was at the office anyway.</p><p>"Good," she nodded, "neither do I," not unless one of the boys kept on insisting on going on a suicide mission on their own when she couldn't even be there to monitor them.</p><p>He nodded, as well, watching her. "Good. I think we're going to get along okay." He offered her a small smile.</p><p>"I hope so," she said sincerely, for his sake, she had to stick around, "is this something you usually do?"</p><p>"What?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing.</p><p>"Pausing for lunch like this?" She asked.</p><p>"Not usually. But I'm actually incredibly hungry today," he admitted with a small smile, glancing down at his hands for a moment, then back up at her. "But you're entitled to an hour lunch break every day. Please don't hesitate to take it, even if I'm not."</p><p>Chloe watched him closely as he spoke. He seemed sincere, so she nodded, but he also seemed... hesitant? Almost insecure? And considering who he was, she found that more than a little surprising, "I usually bring my lunch so I don't normally need the whole hour."</p><p>"Oh." Oliver nodded a little. "As long as you don't just skip it."</p><p>"Not usually," she told him then frowned, "do you?"</p><p>"I keep fruit around if I get hungry," he told her with a small smile.</p><p>"Fruit?" She asked, making a face, "that's it?"</p><p>Amused, he raised his eyebrows. "What do you usually eat for lunch?"</p><p>"TV dinners or whatever microwaveable food that sounds edible," she told him, arching her eyebrows.</p><p>He grinned involuntarily. "Don't like cooking, I take it?"</p><p>"It's just not something I'm a natural at," she said, arching her eyebrows, "do you cook?"</p><p>"I get by," he told her, nodding a little.</p><p>Chloe nodded a little, sipping on her water before looking back at him, she wanted to ask him more, but she didn't want to intrude.</p><p>"It was something that I never want to take for granted again," he said after a moment. "The cooking. With actual electricity."</p><p>She arched her eyebrows, a little surprised as he volunteered information once more. And then she paused. Could he be... lonely? "Right, I guess that's a good point. What did you miss the most?"</p><p>"My bed," he said without hesitation. Then he smiled a little. "Followed very closely by insect repellant and sun screen."</p><p>Smiling a little, she nodded, "I bet it's all the little things you would never have thought about before."</p><p>"Definitely. I mean, if I had to get stuck on an island all over again, I'd definitely bring along sun screen, Off!, a razor, lots of soap, deodorant and an umbrella."</p><p>"Is that it?" She asked curiously, "no... batteries or... bread?"</p><p>"Well, bread would go bad way too fast," he told her, leaning forward a little. "Maybe one of those portable stoves people take with them when they go camping."</p><p>"Oh," Chloe nodded, "yeah, that'd probably be a good idea." She paused, "did you have anyone to talk to?"</p><p>Oliver held his breath for a moment, then shook his head a little. "No. I was the only one there until the day before I finally left the island."</p><p>She made a face at that and nodded slightly, "I'm sure that wasn't easy."</p><p>"It wasn't...pleasant," he said, his voice dropping a little.</p><p>"I'm sure it wasn't," she said, not knowing what to say for a moment then shrugged, "what was the first thing you did when you got back?"</p><p>"Took a shower," he told her with a small smile. "Shaved. And slept in a bed."</p><p>Chloe smiled softly at that and nodded, "sounds like a good plan."</p><p>Nodding, he started to say something else when the intercom on his phone went off. "Mr. Queen, there's a delivery man on his way up for you."</p><p>Blowing out a breath, he rose to his feet.</p><p>She watched him closely as he answered the call but didn't move.</p><p>"Be right back," he told her softly, heading for the outer office to wait for their food.</p><p>Chloe held her breath as he walked away and looked around the office, she hadn't been in there until she'd set up the cameras so without moving, she checked the two cameras that she could see from where she was sitting and it looked like they were still exactly where she left them. Good.</p><p>He returned a couple moments later with the sacks of food, offering her a smile and setting them down on the table. "Help yourself to anything that looks good." He'd ordered a variety.</p><p>"Thank you," she said, sitting forward, "I didn't realize I was hungry but now with the smell of the food..."</p><p>He nodded a little. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He picked up one of the boxes and opened it.</p><p>"Do you always work such long hours?" She asked curiously as she picked up one of the boxes too.</p><p>Oliver was quiet for a moment, stirring the chicken fried rice with a plastic fork. "Not always. Just a lot recently."</p><p>"Is there a particular reason?" She knew the answer, of course. It was why she was there, after all. But she wanted to see how much he'd confide in her.</p><p>"Well, like I said, right now I'm trying to play catch-up," He said, taking a bite, chewing and swallowing. "From when I was gone, and from when I...took a few months of personal leave after I got back." He lowered his gaze to the floor, falling silent.</p><p>Her eyes narrowed slightly at that but she quickly turned her attention back to her food, "well no one can blame you for that, it was a traumatic experience to say the least."</p><p>Except people <i>did</i> blame him for that. Including him. He simply nodded, taking another bite of his food.</p><p>She glanced at him for a moment then took a deep breath, "are you doing anything this weekend?" She pretended to be lightening up the conversation, but really, she needed to know his schedule as well as possible.</p><p>Oliver blinked at that, caught off guard by the question as he looked up at her. "Am I doing anything this weekend?" he echoed.</p><p>"Well, it's Friday." She pointed out, looking at him, "normal people tend to have plans for the weekend this late in the week." She told him, trying for a smile.</p><p>He pursed his lips for a moment. "I have a bit of a pet project I plan to work on this weekend, I guess." He shrugged a little.</p><p>"Oh," she nodded a little, dying to ask more, but she had gotten the 'none of your business' message loud and clear, so she turned to her food.</p><p>"What about you? Any big plans?"</p><p>"Some freelancing," she told him, smiling slightly. It wasn't exactly a lie.</p><p>Oliver nodded, watching her and offering a small smile in return.</p><p>Chloe smiled softly back at him then turned back to her food, eating in silence as she went over everything she <i>would</i> be doing that weekend, starting tonight. It wasn't until her container was nearly empty that she took a deep breath, "thank you for lunch, Mr. Queen." She said, finally breaking the silence.</p><p>"You're welcome," he told her quietly, nodding a little. "I'll refrigerate everything we didn't eat. You can take leftovers home, if you'd like."</p><p>"You don't want to take it?" She asked, frowning slightly.</p><p>He smiled a bit. "I have leftovers at home," he assured her.</p><p>"I think we can split it," she told him, "you ordered enough for five people."</p><p>He smiled a little sheepishly at that. "All right."</p><p>"Thank you again," she told him, smiling at him as she closed the container she'd been eating out of and placed it back in one of the bags.</p><p>"Sure thing," he said softly, doing the same and then moving over to put the bags in the mini-fridge by the bar. "And feel free to come in and get water whenever you want it," he told her, nodding toward the bar.</p><p>"Thank you," she told him, standing up, "I'm working on a few different layouts for the newsletter, I'll email you as soon as I'm done."</p><p>He smiled at that, nodding. "Sounds good."</p><p>She smiled back at him and picked up her water then started back to her desk. He was definitely one of the good guys.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chloe zipped up her jacket and slid the earpiece into her ear then looked around as Victor, Arthur and Bart finished getting ready. Bart had ran her back to Metropolis right after work and they had met at their Metropolis' headquarters: Victor's apartment. She was more than a little anxious to get this particular mission over with. Breaking into LuthorCorp's underground 33.1 facilities was never easy, especially since their last attempt where Arthur had <i>almost</i> been caught, she was more than a little on edge.</p><p>Once her mask was in place, she pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and turned to look at the others, "are you guys ready?"</p><p>"Ready as ever, Gorgeous." Bart grinned at her and winked, sliding his glasses on.</p><p>AC rolled his eyes a little at the younger man. "Smooth as ever, Impulse."</p><p>She shook her head and smiled a little, "okay, Bart, if you can give us all a ride," she pointed to the map in one of the monitors, "we want to make our way in through here, and then" she pointed at a second monitor, which had the blueprint of the facility up on it, "we will head down this corridor, make our way North and we should be able to find the hostages in this area, here." She pointed.</p><p>"According to the data I downloaded from the system's mainframe, there are six of them being held," Victor supplied, looking around at them. "I'll disable the alarm system as soon as we're on site, while Bart takes out the guards at the exits."</p><p>Chloe turned to face him, "you have the blueprint downloaded to you, right?" She asked him and at his nod, she nodded too, "okay, let's do this."</p><p>AC nodded slightly and turned to face Bart. "You can just drop me off at the docks. I'll make my way in the usual way."</p><p>Bart smirked and nodded, "I'll start with fish sticks, then," he told Chloe before picking up AC and vanishing. </p><p>Victor rolled his eyes as the two disappeared, and he looked at Chloe. "Ever feel like you should list them as kids and get a tax deduction for it?" he asked wryly.</p><p>Chloe grinned a little at that and shrugged, "I don't think it matters since we have unlimited funds, thanks to LuthorCorp." She told him, a smirk appearing on her lips. After she met Vic and found out about his condition, hacking into LuthorCorp's bank account and leaking money to buy technology had been the only solution she'd been able to find to keep him alive. Lex <i>had</i> done this to him after all.</p><p>And then when they needed money for equipment and uniforms, well she didn't think twice before going back to that particular source. Considering everything Lex had done to all of them in the past, and all he was doing to those meteor infected people and meta-humans, she didn't feel bad at all for stealing from him. </p><p>He grinned back at her, getting as much enjoyment from stealing from Lex Luthor as she clearly did. "Touche." He nodded, taking in a breath as Bart returned a second later. "Let's get this show on the road. See you there, Watchtower," he told her, winking at her.</p><p>"Good luck," she told him, watching as both Bart and Victor vanished a moment later. With a deep breath, she adjusted her black leather jacket and waited. The boys had all chosen colors for their uniforms. Bart's was red and yellow, Vic's was silver and black and AC's was orange and green, but she had chosen to just keep it simple and have all black clothes. She didn't have any abilities, so she wasn't exactly a superhero and if someone caught <i>her</i>, she'd be thrown in jail, not a lab. </p><p>Bart returned a second later, grinning at her. "Ready?"</p><p>"Let's go," she nodded, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his neck.</p><p>Nodding, he zoomed them off to their destination in the blink of an eye, setting her on her feet seconds later.</p><p>Chloe took a deep breath and nodded, looking at Bart, "Impulse, guards," she reminded him and felt the wind as he sped away then looked at Victor and with a nod, silently followed him toward the entrance.</p><p>Vic disabled the alarm system in a matter of seconds before looking over at her, raising his eyebrows. "Ready?"</p><p>She nodded and took the lead. She had studied the blueprints enough to know exactly what to expect and for some reason, the three of them seemed to expect her to, which was ironic considering she didn't have any powers, but it ended up working out regardless. "Aquaman, are you in?" She muttered against the communicator.</p><p>"I'm in, Watchtower," he confirmed. "Heading toward the north corridor."</p><p>"Good," she said, picking up the pace and pulling a gun from it's holster, just in case. "Let's make this quick, we're about twenty feet from the entrance."</p><p>There was a slight scuffling sound over the radio, and then Bart's voice, "Guards are out," he reported.</p><p>"Moving in," Victor said with a nod, opening the door where two guards lay on the ground, unconscious. "Good work, Impulse."</p><p>"What else did you expect, tin man?" Bart told him as they met up.</p><p>Chloe held her breath as she found, as Victor had predicted, six people, all of them seemingly unconscious. "Cyborg?" She called, nodding at the computer in the corner, "download everything you can, I'll help Bart and AC."</p><p>Nodding, he moved over to the computer in the corner, and plugged into the tower without a word.</p><p>AC picked up one of the unconscious women after carefully disconnecting her from all the machines she was hooked up to. "Impulse, go," he said, handing her over.</p><p>Even as Bart disappeared, she started disconnecting a younger boy, probably fourteen or so from one of the machines, her jaw tight. Every time they came into one of those places, it made her hate Lex Luthor more and made her want to take him down more than anything. But she knew the team needed help, the four of them worked well together and they could help a lot of people, but it wasn't enough.</p><p>Which was why she had moved to Star City in the first place. This Green Arrow guy seemed to be working alone and she was determined to bring him into the team, he obviously knew what he was doing and once she managed to track him down, she was going to prove to him they could do so much more if they helped each other.</p><p>AC worked on disconnecting the other victims, moving quickly. After the first few times they'd infiltrated Lex's torture labs, the bald billionaire had gotten better at getting extra security involved, at getting response teams in more quickly. He knew the man was actively looking for them, even if he had no idea who <i>they</i> even were. He shifted an older man into Bart's arms, watching as he disappeared again and again until all of the hostages were out.</p><p>"Done here," Victor announced, rising to his feet once more and unplugging from the computer system. "Let's get out of here."</p><p>Chloe nodded and took a deep breath, looking around the room to make sure they hadn't missed anything before starting out of the room too, "Aquaman go back that way, Cyborg and I will meet you back at the headquarters," they usually left all together but she knew it was less risky if they split up, confused the security that was undoubtedly already well on it's way.</p><p>AC nodded, heading down the corridor immediately, surprised when he spotted a guard approaching already. "Watchtower, backup's already arrived," he warned, his eyes wide.</p><p>She stilled and glanced at Victor, eyes wide, "can you make your way out?"</p><p>He nodded quickly. "See you outside," he told her, hesitating a moment, not wanting to leave her behind to fend for herself. The sound of a gun shot rang out and his eyes widened, as well.</p><p>Her jaw clenched and she lifted her own gun and without warning, started running in the direction Arthur had left in. She knew Bart wasn't in the facility anymore so she knew they had to have found him.</p><p>Victor followed her quickly, spotting their friend on the floor, bleeding as a guard stood over him.</p><p>"Just wait until Mr. Luthor finds out I killed one of the assholes who's been causing him problems." He took aim once more, but in a gust of wind, the guy went flying through the air and landed on his back hard, his gun gone.</p><p>"Get him help, hurry!" She urged Bart then stepped forward and grabbed the gun Bart had forced him to drop, then kicked the guard on the crotch  as she lifted a hand, pretending she was about to punch him to distract him, "have fun telling <i>Lex</i> how you let us escape." She said tightly.</p><p>Bart scooped AC up off the ground and vanished instantly.</p><p>Victor glared down at the man, as well. "Come on, we need to move before more of them get here," he urged, reaching out and taking her arm.</p><p>Chloe nodded and ran with him down the hallway she knew was heading to the docks. They had no choice but to make their way out through the water now.</p><p>* * *</p><p>Monday morning, Oliver made his way into the office, once more carrying two cups of hot coffee and pausing when he caught sight of Chloe on her cell phone, faced away from him. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was upset--possibly crying, and he felt his chest tighten a little. He'd spent the weekend alternately working from his office on QI business and performing his nightly Green Arrow routine. He'd spent a great deal of time thinking about his new assistant, turning over every possibility in his mind. She just didn't seem like she was in on some kind of mission to remove him from his position at his dad's company. There was something too honest, too <i>nice</i> about her. Of course, he still wasn't one hundred percent, but he truly felt she was on the up and up. Still, as he paused in the door to her office, he couldn't help but wonder what <i>was</i> going on with her.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine," she breathed, she was standing by the window and her voice was quiet as she kept her eyes out on the ocean, "just keep me informed if you hear anything about him." Chloe paused and shook her head, "of course it is my fault, I let it happen." With a sigh, she lifted her arm and rubbed a hand over her face, "it doesn't matter, just let me know if you hear anything. Okay. Okay. Bye."</p><p>As she hung up, she rubbed a hand over her face and sighed softly. She really didn't want to leave Metropolis considering the situation but both Bart and Victor had insisted she should since AC was stable.</p><p>"Chloe?" His voice was soft.</p><p>She stilled, her eyes widening a little as she immediately replayed the conversation in her head, making sure she hadn't said anything suspicious. With her stomach in even more knots than it had been a few seconds ago, she turned to face him, "Mr. Queen," she greeted, "I promise the personal calls are not a habit."</p><p>He shook his head. "It's fine," he assured her, watching her for a moment, taking note of how tired she looked. "Are <i>you</i>?"</p><p>"Yeah," Chloe breathed, trying for a smile, "it was just a long weekend, how are you?"</p><p>At the moment, he was mostly worried about why his new personal assistant looked like she could start crying any minute. "It was fine. Quiet," he said softly. <i>Until last night anyway,</i> he thought, recalling the two muggings and one shooting he'd interrupted.</p><p>"Good," she nodded, this time managing to force a smile on her lips as she moved to her chair and sat down, trying to wrap up the conversation before he asked too many questions, "quiet is nice." Much nicer than what hers had been like, anyway.</p><p>Nodding a little, he stepped forward and deposited the coffee cup on her desk. "Well, if you want to talk about anything...I'm actually a good listener," he told her quietly before heading toward his own office.</p><p>"Thank you," she called after him, sighing softly. If AC didn't get better soon, she might just tell him some story about breaking up with her boyfriend or something that would make him less suspicious of her.</p><p>"Anytime," he called back, sitting down at his own desk and taking a sip of the coffee, making a face. God, he loathed coffee. But there was no way he was going to stay awake today without it.</p><p>She watched him through the open door for a moment then sipped on her coffee, it was her third cup already this morning and it was barely nine. It was going to be a long week.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A couple of days later found Oliver running a few minutes late to work. Chloe had been incredibly quiet the last couple of days, and he wasn't even sure she'd notice that he was late as he crept in, his entire body sore from getting body-slammed by a guy even bigger than he was, just the night before. His head still ached dully, and he'd gobbled down several aspirin as soon as he'd managed to roll out of bed. He might be skilled with a bow and arrow, but it was becoming blatantly obvious that physical fights weren't his forte. He was going to have to up his work-out routine and find someone to work with him one-on-one in martial arts.</p><p>He was sipping on a bottle of orange juice even as he set a coffee down on her desk silently, heading for his office.</p><p>"Mr. Queen?" Chloe called, her eyes a little wide as she looked from the coffee to him, she <i>had</i> noticed that he was late, but just because she'd been more than a little worried about the repercussions for his lateness.</p><p>"Yeah?" He paused in the doorway of his office, turning to look at her uncertainly.</p><p>"Mr. Johnson is waiting for you," she told him, nodding back at his office, which unusually had the door closed at the older man's request.</p><p>He groaned involuntarily at that, leaning his head against the door for a few seconds then taking a deep breath. "Thanks for the heads up." His voice was nearly inaudible.</p><p>"Good luck," she said quietly. She had Vic keeping an eye on what was going on in the room since the other man showed up. He was Edward Johnson, head of the Queen Industries board and the reason why Chloe and the team decided they need to keep an eye on Oliver, so she wanted to know if he had touched anything while Oliver wasn't there and more importantly, wanted to have footage of this conversation, just in case.</p><p>"Mr. Johnson, good to see you," Oliver said with false cheer, nodding at him as he moved into the office, gritting his teeth a little when he found the other man at <i>his</i> desk.</p><p>"Mr. Queen," he greeted, setting down the pile of papers he'd been going through back over Oliver's desk but not bothering with getting up from his chair, "would you mind closing the door, I don't want us to be overheard."</p><p>His jaw tightened at that, but he forced himself to smile. "Certainly." He moved over to the door, forcing himself to take a deep breath, glancing at Chloe once more before shutting the door between their offices. "What can I do for you?"</p><p>Chloe pursed her lips together and watched then pulled the communication from her purse and slid it into her ear, "okay, turn it up. The show is about to start." She muttered to Vic. In case the older man threatened Oliver, she planned on interrupting them with a lame excuse.</p><p>"Firstly, I'm highly impressed by the improvement on your time management," Edward said, checking his watch, "only twenty minutes late when we used to have a hard time getting you <i>anywhere</i> on time in the past. It's nice to see such drastic change, Mr. Queen." He told him with a condescending smile.</p><p>"Well, I certainly hate to let people down," Oliver responded without missing a beat.</p><p>"Oh, I have no doubt that you do," he nodded, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the glass desk as he pressed his hands together and linked his fingers, the same condescending smile still on his face, "which is why I'm sure you are as bothered as we are about the, well, <i>instability</i> that your return has provided to our investors."</p><p>He raised his eyebrows a little at that. "I'd be more concerned if their investing hadn't actually <i>increased</i> when I returned," he said easily, watching the older man carefully, doing his best not to fall into his trap.</p><p>"That's because the value of our stocks has dropped, Mr. Queen," he told him, shaking his head and chuckling slightly, "but I would hate to bore you with details you show no concern for, I'm here for an entirely different matter, in fact."</p><p>Oliver's jaw tightened. "Please, do get to the point then. I have things to do," he said as neutrally as he could.</p><p>"Seeing as you seem so interested in maintaining your social life," Edward said, picking up a folder and placing it on the other end of the desk, "the board and I agreed that perhaps, we should let you handle the organizing of our next fundraiser."</p><p><i>Maintaining my social life? What social life?</i> he wondered, narrowing his eyes a little as he picked up the folder.</p><p>"The information should be pretty straightforward," Edward said, standing up and adjusting his tie, "I'm afraid the planning time is running a little short as we were only able to book the ballroom at the Plaza for the sixteenth, that gives you a total of nine full days of planning, but I have no doubt you will be successful."</p><p>"Yes, I'm certain that was the only date available at the Plaza," Oliver said dryly, closing the folder and setting it down on his desk.</p><p>Edward smiled at him and nodded, "I'll see you on the sixteenth, Mr. Queen," he told him before heading for the door.</p><p>He glared at the other man as he left the office. "<i>Jackass</i>," he said under his breath, raking a hand through his hair and moving over to his desk. He had nine days to plan a huge fundraiser on top of everything else he was attempting to handle. That was exactly what he needed.</p><p>Chloe had heard the whole thing of course, when Victor warned her that Edward was leaving she hid her communicator back in her purse and waited. It had taken every ounce of her self control not to glare at the greedy bastard as he walked away, and then, with a long sip of her coffee, she stood up and walked over to Oliver's office. "Mr. Queen?"</p><p>He forced himself to take a breath before looking up at her. "Yeah?"</p><p>"Everything okay?" She asked, but she knew the answer. He looked positively defeated. Exhausted even.</p><p>"Just have some extra work now," he told her, trying to smile and not managing it. He looked down at the folder that Johnson had left behind.</p><p>"Anything I can help you with?" She knew nothing about organizing fundraisers but he obviously needed all the help he could get.</p><p>Oliver was silent for a moment, then he rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. What he wanted was a strong drink.</p><p>Chloe took a step forward and arched her eyebrows, "I don't mind helping," she said sincerely.</p><p>He managed a faint, tired smile at that as he looked up at her. "I know," he said quietly. He just wasn't sure if there was a point. It seemed like no matter how hard he worked, no matter what he did, his board was going to do their best to assure his failure. They didn't want him there, and it was becoming more blatantly obvious by the day. He was losing an uphill battle.</p><p>She took a deep breath and pursed her lips together, "Mr. Queen, I know this isn't any of my business but I heard a few rumors around the office," she lied, she hadn't exactly bothered socializing with anyone, "but regardless of what they are trying to do to you, this is <i>your</i> company, your parents' company and you shouldn't let greedy old men win."</p><p>He gazed at her intently. "Truthfully I wonder if I'm cut out for this," he admitted, his voice soft. "The board's been here a lot longer than I have."</p><p>"Exactly," she told him, looking at him, "they've been here, in control for so long. They are probably willing to do whatever it takes to make sure it stays that way," she lowered her voice, "including making you think you can't do this."</p><p>Oliver paused at that, considering her words. "They want me to organize a huge fundraiser in nine days," he told her.</p><p>"Oh," she blinked, pretending to be surprised by the information, "that's not much time at all, and admittedly, I don't know much about organizing a fundraiser, but like I said I will help with anything I can."</p><p>"I think I'm going to have to take you up on that," he said quietly. Because there was no way he could do that by himself on top of everything else.</p><p>"Okay," she told him, smiling, "and I don't mind working overtime, I don't have much of a life."</p><p>"Then I guess that makes two of us," he said with a small smile. "I'll compensate you for any and all extra time you put in."</p><p>"Thank you," she told him and nodded a little, "let me know when you're ready to start."</p><p>"Let's plan for the afternoon?" he suggested. "I have a few other things I need to attend to first, and then we can get started."</p><p>"Works for me," she told him, nodding slightly. That also gave her some time to research exactly what kind of thing they would need anyway. "I'll leave you to it." Chloe told him before starting back out of the office.</p><p>"Chloe?"</p><p>She paused and turned to look at him again, arching her eyebrows.</p><p>Oliver gazed at her. "Thank you," he said sincerely.</p><p>Chloe smiled softly at that and nodded. She couldn't tell him anything, but she was glad that he had agreed to letting her help.</p><p>* * *</p><p>It was nearly nine o'clock that night when Oliver laid his head back on the sofa in his office and shut his eyes for a moment, fighting a pounding headache. He blew out a breath. "Our biggest obstacle is going to be getting word out to everyone about the fundraiser," he told her.</p><p>"We need to do it as soon as possible," she told him, sipping on a soda can that was barely cold anymore, "maybe we can send invitations by email tonight?" She suggested, "and then if you think it's necessary, overnight actual invitations tomorrow."</p><p>Oliver nodded a little, lifting his head once more. "Yeah, that's probably the best plan of attack. We'll need some kind of real attention getter with the invitation at this late in the game."</p><p>"I still have some friends at the Daily Planet," she told him, shrugging a little, "I doubt you will have an issue with press coverage but I can probably talk to my old editor..."</p><p>He nodded, looking lost in thought.</p><p>"Why don't you make a mailing list while I work on the invite based on the information we have?" She suggested, glancing over at him.</p><p>"Sounds good," he said, rising to his feet and grimacing a little as his muscles protested.</p><p>"And after this," Chloe said, arching her eyebrows, "you look like you need some rest."</p><p>Oliver looked down at her, an amused smile touching his mouth.</p><p>She paused when he didn't say anything and turned to look at him, blinking, "was that... out of line?" She asked, he didn't <i>look</i> upset but he wasn't one of the guys either.</p><p>"No. I'm just...not used to someone expressing actual concern over me sleeping," he told her with a small smile.</p><p>"Oh," she smiled at him and shrugged a little, "well, you seem tired and kinda like you're in pain, actually."</p><p>"I think I slept in a weird position last night," he said softly, shrugging, as well.</p><p>"Oh," she started to nod then jumped slightly when her phone buzzed one the couch, she picked it up and her eyes widened instantly when she saw it was Bart. "Excuse me," she told Oliver, before answering as she stood up and started toward the door, "hey."</p><p>Oliver blinked, watching her go, then shaking his head a little as he moved to sit at his computer desk.</p><p>"Hey, Beautiful," Bart greeted. "How's it going?"</p><p>"I'm okay, still at work," she said, hoping he'd take the hint, "what's going on?"</p><p>"Oh, right." He frowned a little. "Just thought you'd like to know AC's back home and doing just fine."</p><p>"Oh," Chloe blinked, letting out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, "he is? And he's allowed to be, right? You guys didn't break him out or anything?"</p><p>"Absolutely not," he assured her. "Emil said he should be completely healed in a few hours. He's submersed in the tub right now."</p><p>"Good," she sighed, nodding a little, "good, thank you for letting me know, Bart."</p><p>"Always. How's it going with Richie Rich?" There was a hint of teasing in his voice.</p><p>"In some trouble," she told him, "but Vic can tell you all about it."</p><p>"All right. I'll get the scoop from him then. You need anything?"</p><p>"I'm good, but I'll give you a call when I'm home?" She said, keeping her voice as casual as possible.</p><p>"Sounds good, Gorgeous. Talk to you later."</p><p>"See you later," she paused, "and... let him know I'm really glad he's okay?" Chloe added, still feeling guilty about it. From now on they were definitely sticking together during missions.</p><p>"Will do," Bart promised.</p><p>"Thanks," she breathed, "talk to you later," she told him before hanging up and sighing softly. At least that was over with.</p><p>Oliver was just finishing up the email he'd been composing when she stepped back into his office. "Can you go over this and make sure it sounds okay?" he asked, glancing over at her.</p><p>She blinked a couple of times and nodded, pursing her lips together as she walked around his desk and stood beside his chair, "you already wrote the invitation?" She asked, surprised, "that was fast."</p><p>"It probably needs work," he said quietly.</p><p>Chloe chewed on her bottom lip as she read for a moment, "it's good," she told him, glancing at him, "do you mind if I--" she asked, motioning to the computer.</p><p>"No, go ahead," he said, rising to his feet and letting her take his chair.</p><p>"Thank you," she told him, taking the chair and pulling it forward before starting to edit the invitation, she changed words around and edited the format some, adding information here and there and deleting some of it.</p><p>Oliver watched her, raising his eyebrows a little and glancing at her sideways. "You definitely have a way with words."</p><p>Chloe smiled softly and glanced at him, standing up and stepping aside, making room for him, "you should read the whole thing before saying that."</p><p>He sat down once more, reading over what she'd written. "No, I maintain my opinion," he informed her with a smile.</p><p>She grinned softly at that and nodded, "thank you."</p><p>"You're welcome." He looked up at her, returning her smile with one of his own.</p><p>Chloe walked over to the files and went through them for a moment, "do you want me to tell you who was on the last guest list and you can check if you have their emails?"</p><p>"Yeah, that'd be great," he said, nodding.</p><p>She nodded, walking closer to his desk and smiling a little, "okay, Bruce Wayne."</p><p>Oliver smirked involuntarily at that, typing in Bruce's name. "Have it."</p><p>"Carol Winters," She said, raising her eyes toward him, they kept on the ridiculously long list for a while and Chloe recognized some of the names, but she guessed a lot of them were Star City guests and that's why she hadn't heard about them before. It was going well and then, a particular name made her jaw clench slightly as well as her stomach, "Lex Luthor."</p><p>He made a face at that, tensing a little. "Great," he mumbled.</p><p>Chloe arched her eyebrows at his reaction but didn't say anything about it. He didn't seem to like Lex Luthor, it wasn't surprising but it was always a good quality, "do you have his contact?"</p><p>"No. But I'll get it from LuthorCorp's website." He sighed a little, clicking with the mouse and typing in the address.</p><p>Chloe knew the email but she didn't think it would be smart to tell him that, "okay." She bit down on her bottom lip, "do you not normally do business with LuthorCorp?"</p><p>Oliver couldn't help but snort involuntarily. "Not if I can avoid it," he responded.</p><p>The hint of a smirk appeared on her lips and she nodded slightly, looking back down at the list.</p><p>He glanced over at her, pausing for a moment. "You're not a big fan either, I take it."</p><p>"Not particularly," she told him, shrugging slightly, "I don't think many people who live in Metropolis for an extended period of time are, though."</p><p>"Touche," he murmured, considering that.</p><p>"He was at the very bottom of the list, I guess whoever made it wasn't thrilled to invite him either?" She suggested, arching her eyebrows.</p><p>Oliver glanced up once more. "Well, he does run a competing company," he said, nodding a little. "Unfortunately in the business world it's a requirement to invite people like Lex to large events. Especially fundraisers."</p><p>Chloe nodded slightly then shrugged, "at least it's just for one night, I suppose." She told him, placing the list over his desk, "he was the last one."</p><p>"Good. I'm ready to pass out," he commented.</p><p>"I'm tired too," she nodded, especially now that she knew AC would be okay, she'd finally be able to relax and have a good night sleep, "if you want to send me a copy of the email, I will make sure I send a paper invitation to everyone as soon as possible tomorrow morning."</p><p>"Sounds good," he agreed, sending it to her quickly and then shutting down his computer.</p><p>She took a deep breath and stretched a little, rubbing her hands over her face before starting over to her desk.</p><p>He watched her for a moment. "I'll walk you to your car," he offered.</p><p>"Oh, you don't have to do that," she told him, shutting down her desktop before picking up her purse.</p><p>"It's late," he said quietly. "I'd feel better knowing you got out of here safely."</p><p>Chloe arched her eyebrows a little as she ducked her head, she supposed she could pretend she was a damsel in distress for one night, for his sake, "yeah, I guess it can get pretty dangerous here."</p><p>It was an understatement, really. Granted, it wasn't anything compared to Metropolis or Gotham, but Star City had its own problems, and he didn't want her to get caught up in any trouble when it could be easily prevented. He offered her a small smile. "Better safe than sorry," he agreed.</p><p>"I'm not going to argue with that," she told him, "I'm not parked far from the building."</p><p>"All right." He hesitated a moment, then offered her his arm and a small, uncertain smile.</p><p>She arched her eyebrows slowly then adjusted her purse over her shoulder before sliding her arm over his and smiling just as uncertainly up at him.</p><p>"I really appreciate all your help," he said softly, leading her out of her office and toward the elevator.</p><p>"Thanks for letting me help," she told him, looking ahead but glancing up at him.</p><p>He smiled faintly at that, ducking his head. "You've been a Godsend," he admitted.</p><p>Chloe arched her eyebrows a little at that, looking up at him, "this job turned out to be a lot better than I expected."</p><p>"I'm glad to hear it," he told her, meeting her eyes and holding his breath for a moment.</p><p>She held her breath too when her heart suddenly sped up, her eyes still on his as she completely forgot what she was going to say to him.</p><p>Oliver swallowed hard as they gazed at each other intently, so lost in the moment that he actually flinched when the bell signaled the elevator's arrival at their floor, and the door slid open.</p><p>Chloe blinked several times and looked away, her eyes wider than usual and she chewed on the inside of her mouth, wishing she could remember what they'd been talking about so she could fill the silence.</p><p>"If you want to uh--if you want to come in later tomorrow, that's fine," he told her as the elevator descended toward the parking garage level.</p><p>"Oh," she shook her head a little, still not looking at him, "no, it's okay, I want to send the invitations to be printed as soon as the place opens." </p><p>He nodded a little, falling silent and exhaling slowly when the elevator doors slid open once more. "Here we are," he said quietly.</p><p>"I'm over to the right," she said quietly, glancing in the direction of her car. She had driven the red bug all the way from Kansas and the boys had made the drive with her. Well, Victor, AC and Bart had. She didn't see Clark as much these days, he was working at the Planet with her cousin and he had no interest in joining the team so she left him alone to do his own thing while they did theirs.</p><p>"The bug?" he asked, glancing at her sideways, a small smile tugging at his mouth.</p><p>Chloe paused at his immediate assumption, sure there weren't many cars left, but still. Nodding slightly, she smirked, "that obvious?"</p><p>He smiled a bit. "I'm usually pretty good at reading people."</p><p>"And what you got from me was 'she owns a reg bug'?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. </p><p>He chuckled involuntarily, shaking his head. "It's a unique car," he explained, glancing around at all of the other cars.</p><p>"It is?" She asked, frowning a little at her bug before pulling her arm out and reaching for her keys in her purse, "I've had it since high school so I guess it doesn't feel unique to me."</p><p>"Well, unique in the sense that not a lot of people own them. And some of them that do aren't really suited for them." He shrugged.</p><p>"Yeah, I guess I can't really see you driving one of them," she admitted, smiling up at him.</p><p>"I'm not sure I'd fit in one," he joked.</p><p>"Hey, I have friends bigger than you and they manage. I had to pull the top down but still," she smirked.</p><p>He chuckled softly. "Do they have to hang their legs out of the car?" he teased.</p><p>"Only if there are more than one of them," she informed him, mock-proudly. </p><p>Oliver grinned at her. "I think I'll have to stick with my car," he told her, winking.</p><p>"I tried," she told him, smiling up at him, "thank you for walking me over here."</p><p>"No problem," he assured her, smiling back at her. "Have a good night."</p><p>"You too, I'll see you tomorrow," she told him, reaching for the door and unlocking her car before slipping inside.</p><p>He drew in a breath and let it out slowly as he made his way over to his own car, unlocking it and sliding in the driver's side, rubbing a hand over his face. A few hours of patrolling and a couple hours of sleep. Hopefully tomorrow would go smoothly.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chloe had been in Star City for a full whole month now and she <i>still</i> hadn't met the elusive Green Arrow. Granted she hadn't been going out to look for him <i>every</i> night and even less lately considering AC and then the fact that she and Oliver had been staying late to work on the fundraiser, but she was determined to find him today.</p><p>She had been studying his patterns and she knew this particular rooftop seemed to be on his way, at least, he passed it every night. She just hoped he worked on Sundays.</p><p>With a deep breath, she adjusted her mask over her eyes and pulled the hood of her uniform further over her head then pressed herself against the side wall to the roof and waited. She wanted to make sure she saw him before he saw her.</p><p>Moments later, he landed on the roof with barely a noise. He might not be great at hand-to-hand combat, but he had perfected the art of leaping from rooftop to rooftop, landing quietly. It was one hell of a rush. So far the night had been very quiet, other than the fight he'd broken up between a few teenagers earlier. He supposed even criminals needed a day off once in awhile. He moved to the edge of the roof, looking down over the city and waiting.</p><p>Chloe held her breath when she saw him, she watched him for a moment as it seemed like he wasn't planning on going anywhere, then let her breath out slowly and stepped quietly out of her hiding place.</p><p>"Green Arrow." she called, her voice firm.</p><p>He turned quickly, immediately tensing and on guard as he spotted her there, in the shadows on the other side of the roof. Dressed head to toe in black, including a black mask that hid most of her facial features, he stared at her. "Who are you?" he asked, his own voice distorted.</p><p>She held up her hands, showing him she wasn't armed, "Watchtower," she told him, a smirk appearing on her lips at the obvious shock on whatever she could see of his face and in his voice.</p><p>Oliver's gaze trailed over her body, a smirk forming on his own mouth. "I like the outfit."</p><p>Chloe arched her eyebrows, surprised, then took in his own. He did have amazing arms although she supposed it made sense considering he was hanging from them half the time, "superhero and a flirt," she pointed out. </p><p>He raised his eyebrows, as well. "All rolled into one hot package."</p><p>"I'm sure that works a lot better on women who aren't around your type all the time." She smirked, cocking her head slightly.</p><p>"My type?" he echoed, narrowing his eyes behind his glasses.</p><p>She just smirked and stepped closer, "I'm part of a team." She told him, turning her head and glancing down at the city as she kept her voice low, "we've been following your work."</p><p>He watched her intently, still tense. "I had no idea I had fans outside the media."</p><p>"Fans?" She smirked, shaking her head, "we've been doing this a lot longer than you have, Green Arrow. You need to reign in that ego." She told him, turning her head to look at him.</p><p>"Who <i>are</i> you?" he asked again, shaking his head and taking a step toward her.</p><p>"Watchtower," she repeated, arching her eyebrows and turning to face him but not backing away.</p><p>"And you're part of a team of other superheroes?"</p><p>"Yes," she told him, "there are four of us, Impulse, Aquaman and Cyborg are the others."</p><p>"And what is it that you want from me?" he asked, cocking his head.</p><p>"I think we can help each other," she said simply, keeping her eyes on the direction of his face as she took another step forward.</p><p>"Help each other with what, exactly?" Oliver questioned, beginning to feel even more suspicious.</p><p>"With <i>this</i>," she told him, "patrolling, helping people, taking down bad guys. You know how it goes, Robin Hood."</p><p>A smirk touched his mouth. "I think I've got <i>this</i> all covered, Batwoman."</p><p>"Batwoman?" She smirked, back at him, then stepped forward until she was invading his personal space, "I'm no one's <i>sidekick</i>." She told him firmly, "you think you've got this covered but no one, no matter how good they are or how many abilities they have can do this alone."</p><p>He stared down at her. She was over a foot shorter than he was, but somehow it didn't seem like it right then. "Speaking from experience?" he asked mildly. </p><p>"Yes." She answered simply but firmly.</p><p>"And how do I know this isn't all some kind of set-up to get me to reveal my identity so you can expose me?" He stepped even closer, their bodies only inches apart.</p><p>"I don't <i>wanna</i> know your identity," she told him, "not until I know you're trustworthy because until then, I'm not willing to expose mine." Chloe had to turn her head up a little more so she could keep her eyes on his face. He smelled amazing. It was oddly familiar but she couldn't quite figure out why.</p><p>"Well, that works both ways," he informed her, staring down at her intently and wishing he could see more of her face. Not because he wanted to know who she was, but because he found her alluring.</p><p>"Good. I would have to question your intelligence otherwise," she smirked, knowing that her mouth was visible with the way her head was cocked back.</p><p>"Please don't. I have enough people who do that in my personal life," he responded with a returned smirk.</p><p>Chloe didn't say anything to that, she kept her eyes on him then started to circle him, "how long have you been doing this, Arrow?"</p><p>"A few months," he said guardedly, turning to watch her. "And you?"</p><p>She smirked even more at that, unable to keep her eyes off his arms as she walked past it, "four years." Technically the team had been together for two, but she'd been helping Clark before that, besides, it sounded more impressive that way.</p><p>Oliver paused, considering that. Assuming she was telling the truth, he could probably learn something from her. But he couldn't afford to assume. "I've never heard of Watchtower," he informed her.</p><p>"That's because we work really hard to <i>keep</i> our work a secret instead of posing for pictures and leaving the press souvenir arrows every time we get a chance to," she said firmly, pausing in front of him once more, "keeps the bad guys from getting to know our MO and gives us the upper hand when taking them down."</p><p>His jaw tightened at that. "No offense, but if insulting me is the way you're pitching me to join your team, don't expect to get the results you're hoping for," he responded evenly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."</p><p>"If that's how you always take criticism from someone who is <i>obviously</i> more experienced than you, you have a lot more to learn than I thought," she told him, not moving away and smirking, "pay closer attention to the national news, Arrow, you will find our work if you're looking for it." </p><p>He turned to face her once more. "Maybe you should look a little more closely at the crime statistics in Star City, <i>Tower</i>. I'm one guy in <i>one</i> city. As much as I'd love to have time to comb the news every day for information on other places besides this one, I just don't have it. So if you want to give me something specific to look into, by all means." He motioned with one of his hands.</p><p>"You think stopping robbers and assaults is enough, Arrow?" She told him, "there are much bigger wrongs to right out there and wrongs you can't deal with <i>alone</i>." She told him, turning her head to look up at him once more, "being out there and helping the woman who is being abused or the man who is getting mugged is important, but you don't see how much bigger this can be. Yet." </p><p>"Like I said, I'm just one guy. I've never pretended that I could deal with <i>all</i> the evils of the world--by myself or otherwise. And I'm doing more than you seem to realize."</p><p>"And that's enough for you?" She pressed, "you don't want to do <i>everything</i> you can?" </p><p>He fell silent, staring at her, his heart beating a little more quickly in his chest.</p><p>She smirked at him and nodded, "that's what I thought," she commented on his silence, "I'll give you some time, but I'll be around," she said, starting to walk away, back toward the stairs. She really wished she could just jump onto the next roof but she had no cooler exit for the time being. </p><p>Oliver watched her go, his chest tightening.</p><p>Now he had some research to do.</p><p>* * *</p><p>Chloe picked up a piece of paper from the printer and walked into Oliver's office a moment later, their pizza had just gotten there so she joined him on the couch and handed him the sheet, "about eighty percent of the people we invited RSVP'd and we have two more days to go," she said brightly, it was a much better return than she'd expected considering how late they'd sent the invitations and she knew not everyone who RSVP'd would actually make it there, but if fifty percent of the guests did, that was a lot of people already.</p><p>He raised his eyebrows, a little shocked. "Eighty percent? Really?" He took the paper from her, studying it.</p><p>"Just about, yeah," she nodded, smiling at him as she opened the pizza box, she was starving. She'd been working later and going out every night to keep an eye on Green Arrow, but the fact that she was making progress was enough to help her keep going.</p><p>Oliver smiled back at her, his eyes a little brighter than usual. "I think we make a good team." He inhaled, closing his eyes at the smell of the pizza. She wasn't the only one who was starving. Since they'd been having lunch together while working on the fundraiser every day, he was getting accustomed to actually eating more than an apple or orange for a meal.</p><p>She picked up a slice of pizza and placed it on a paper plate, "what else do we have to do? I just sent you the confirmation for the catering and the band." A jazz band, which Chloe would never have guessed would be the choice for this kind of thing but it made sense.</p><p>"I think we're actually just about done. Other than finding things to wear ourselves," he said with a smile.</p><p>Chloe stilled at that, her eyes widening as she turned to look at him. She hadn't even <i>thought</i> about that, in fact, she figured there was a possibility he wouldn't even want her to go.</p><p>He paused at the look on her face, pizza halfway to his mouth. "...what?"</p><p>"I-- completely forgot about that," she murmured, wincing a little, "I guess I'll go today after work."</p><p>Oliver considered her for a moment. "I could have some things sent over for you to choose from, if that'd be easier."</p><p>"...What do you mean? Like catalogs?" She asked, because unless she took an extra amount from the LuthorCorp account she had the feeling she wouldn't be able to afford something from a store he was used to shopping at.</p><p>A small smile touched his mouth. "No, dresses," he told her.</p><p>"Samples?" she reasoned.</p><p>He chuckled. "No, actual gowns," he said, shaking his head a little.</p><p>Chloe chewed down on her bottom lip and arched her eyebrows, "well, let me take a look today and if I can't find anything I might take you up on your offer?" She said, not sure what exactly he was offering.</p><p>Oliver paused, not sure why she was so hesitant. "All right. But if you find something, I expect it to be charged to my expense account," he told her.</p><p>She paused at that once again, at this rate, she was never going to be able to take a bite of her pizza, "why?"</p><p>"Because it's how business works," he said with a slight shrug.</p><p>"The company pays for my dress that I get to keep, because it's for a work event?" She asked, wanting to make sure. She knew Oliver wasn't anything like the Luthors but she was still hesitant to accept things from billionaires. She much rather take it from the evil ones when they weren't looking.</p><p>"Yep, pretty much. For the people who organize the fundraiser, anyway. Not everyone in the company," he told her, taking a bite of his pizza.</p><p>"Oh," she breathed, finally taking a bite of her pizza and chewing thoughtfully for a moment before looking at him, "what am I supposed to do on Saturday anyway?"</p><p>"Well...that kind of depends. Do you have a date you'll be bringing?" Oliver took a drink of water, avoiding her eyes. He really hoped not.</p><p>"Am I supposed to?" She asked, eyes wide once more. Organizing the fundraiser had been actually really enjoyable and challenging, but going to it was so out of her comfort zone. She was immediately thinking of ways in which she could blackmail one of the boys to come with her. Probably Vic since she knew he was more likely to behave.</p><p>"Well, if you don't, I'm kinda hoping you'll hang around with me, since I don't either," he told her, glancing over at her finally.</p><p>And now she was even more thrown by <i>that</i>, "you don't have a date?" How was that even possible?</p><p>Normally he would have just called one of any number of women who'd attended events with him in the past, but he just didn't have the energy to deal with self-absorbed intentions at that point. He didn't want to spend the entire evening pretending to be interested in small talk. "I don't," he confirmed.</p><p>She blew out a breath and looked down at her pizza, buying time by chewing on a bite slowly before pursing her lips together, "and you're sure you want me to go with you? I mean, you're the host, I don't... want to embarrass you or anything." She told him, glancing at him, hating her stomach for suddenly being in knots. </p><p>His expression softened at that. "You won't embarrass me, Chloe. Really. But if the idea makes you uncomfortable, I understand and there won't be any hard feelings."</p><p>Chloe shook her head slightly, "it doesn't make me uncomfortable," she said sincerely, glancing at him. She could break into Lex's facilities a thousand times, she could take down five armed guys on her own with barely a scratch, but this was making her ridiculously nervous for some reason. She had to pull herself together. "I'm just not sure what to do or what is expected."</p><p>"Mostly just to hang out with me, greet people, and occasionally some dancing," he assured her.</p><p>"Okay," she breathed, nodding slightly, "I can do that."</p><p>He smiled at her. "It'll be fine," he promised.</p><p>She pursed her lips together and nodded slightly, "in that case, though," she said quietly, "I might take you up on the dress offer, I want to make sure it's appropriate."</p><p>"Yeah?" He raised his eyebrows. "Cause I can make that happen by this afternoon if you're really interested."</p><p>"Really?" She asked, arching her eyebrows.</p><p>Oliver nodded. "Absolutely. I'll need to know your dress size, and what colors you prefer...but I'm guessing around size six, and...red?"</p><p>She blinked a couple of times and stared at him, "seriously? How do you <i>do</i> that?"</p><p>He chuckled. "Like I said, I've always been pretty decent at reading people."</p><p>"Well, you're right. Again." she said, shaking her head slightly, "but maybe black or something a little more neutral? Or... a darker red at least?"</p><p>"Sure. Whatever you want," he told her, nodding.</p><p>"Thank you, Oliver." She said sincerely. "That does make things easier."</p><p>He smiled at her. "As much as you've helped me out, I'm happy to do it." He rose to his feet, moving toward his telephone.</p><p>She smiled back at him and sat back against the couch, taking another bite of her pizza.</p><p>He made the call then started back toward the sofa when Mr. Johnson stepped into his office. Immediately the smile left his face, his jaw tightening a little.</p><p>Chloe stilled mid-bite and put her pizza back down on her plate, sitting up as her eyes went from Oliver to the older man.</p><p>"What is this? A lunch party and the rest of us haven't been invited?" He said, pretending to be joking.</p><p>Oliver arched an eyebrow. "I'd think with your salary, you'd be able to afford your own lunch, Mr. Johnson," he said evenly.</p><p>"And I would think with yours, you would be able to find yourself better company, Mr. Queen," he said with the same condescending smile.</p><p>He stiffened, all semblance of humor or pretenses of politeness vanishing at the insult. "Mr. Johnson, you may not like me, and you may not respect me, but be very clear--this is <i>my</i> company and insulting my assistant will <i>not</i> be tolerated regardless of what position you may hold on the board." He moved so he was standing toe-to-toe with the man, towering over him by several inches. "Are we clear about that?" His voice was tense, warning.</p><p>"Perfectly," he smirked, clearly not taking the threat very seriously at all, "I will let you go back to enjoy the company of your assistant in a moment, Mr. Queen," he smiled, "I simply stopped by to let you know the board has decided to invite twenty more potential investors to the fundraiser, of course, losing those investors because of a poorly planned event would cost us billions not to mention, the company's reputation would, once again, decline."</p><p>"The event has been meticulously planned, Mr. Johnson," Chloe said, now standing, her jaw tight, "Mr. Queen has added some guests himself and I have no doubt that, thanks to <i>him</i> the company will continue to expand. Hopefully he can even get rid of any obstacles that may stand on his way in the process."</p><p>Oliver smirked faintly, not taking his eyes off the man. "Rest assured, the fundraiser will be a success," he informed him. "Now, I'm sure such an <i>important</i> man like yourself is very busy. I'd hate for you to waste anymore of your time <i>here</i>." He nodded toward the door.</p><p>"Indeed I do," Mr. Johnson said, not acknowledging Chloe but for a quick glance, "I believe I have some obstacles of my own to attend to. Have a good day, Mr. Queen." He told him before heading back toward the door.</p><p>Chloe glared after him but forced herself to remain quiet. More than what she already knew, this guy was more trouble than she initially thought.</p><p>Oliver glared after him, as well, waiting until he was out of hearing range before speaking again. "Asshole," he muttered.</p><p>She blinked a couple of times at that, surprised then turned to look at Oliver, "are you okay?"</p><p>"Depends. Can I go punch him in the face?" he asked, turning to look at her and jerking his thumb over his shoulder.</p><p>"I won't try to stop you," she said, sighing then sitting back down, "I would help you, actually. But I think the fundraiser will be a big enough slap in all their faces."</p><p>He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, watching her. "I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head.</p><p>"What for?" She frowned, cocking her head as a hint of a smirk appeared on her lips, "defending me?"</p><p>"No, I'm not sorry for that at all," Oliver said honestly. "I'm sorry you were subjected to that jerk's insults because of me."</p><p>"I'm not insulted," she said, picking up her plate once more, determined to finish her slice of pizza, "I don't care what he thinks and like I said, once the fundraiser is a success and he has no choice but to shut up, that will be good enough."</p><p>He watched her for a moment. "You're one of a kind, you know that right?"</p><p>Chloe paused and looked at him, smiling a little before turning back to her pizza, "I hope that's a good thing."</p><p>"It's a very good thing for <i>me</i>." He smiled softly.</p><p>She glanced at him again and smiled more, "aren't you going to eat? I thought you said you were starving."</p><p>Oliver moved to sit beside her once more, picking up his abandoned slice of pizza and taking a bite, winking at her. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten lucky enough to have someone like Chloe Sullivan in his corner, but he wasn't going to take it for granted.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After some discussion, Oliver and Chloe had decided to meet at the actual event rather than ride together. He was concerned with both how it would affect her personally if a lot of rumors started flying about the two of them--however inevitable it actually was, and he wasn't entirely sure she was comfortable with the arrangement in the first place. He liked her, a lot, in fact, and he didn't want to do anything to make her uncomfortable or lower her opinion of him in any way. Not when everyone else already had such a low opinion of him.</p><p>He was talking to a couple of potential investors when a slight hush fell over the crowd. He turned, his eyes widening ever-so-slightly as he watched her make her entrance into the room. The black satin dress she'd picked was simple but elegant, hugging her curves in all the right places, but leaving enough to the imagination to be classy. He hadn't seen her when she'd tried it on, and he felt his gut tighten as he saw her now. Her hair was slightly curled, tendrils of blond locks framing her face softly. The breath caught in his throat. She looked <i>incredible</i>.</p><p>And she was incredibly nervous. The second she started to get ready, she regretted telling him she'd meet him there. This felt like her senior prom all over again, except a thousand times worse. Even though Oliver had insisted on sending her a limo to pick her up, she still had to walk in by herself. She hadn't even thought about the fact that the press was going to be there and would be taking a ton of pictures even as she made her way into the event.</p><p>At least if he'd been there, she would have been able to hold on to his arm and not be so damn afraid to trip because she couldn't see anything after all the flashes. Even now as she made her way into the ballroom of the hotel, her eyes were still a little wide as she looked around, heart beating fast against her chest. She'd like to think the worst was over, but she knew that was far from the truth.</p><p>It took him a moment to pull himself together enough to excuse himself from the people he'd been chatting with and make his way across the floor to her, his heart thumping heavily. When he reached her, he held his hand out to her. "You are a <i>vision</i>," he said softly.</p><p>Chloe blinked, a little surprised when he showed up in front of her. She could hug him right then she was so relieved to see his familiar face so she smiled brightly and nervously at him as she took the offered hand, "hey," she breathed, taking him in. He looked amazing, even better than he always did. He didn't look as stressed out, as weighted down.</p><p>Oliver smiled at her, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it lightly.</p><p>She held her breath at the unexpected gesture, her heart skipping a beat this time before picking up again at twice the speed, she didn't even notice the fact that half of the room was staring at them.</p><p>He laced his fingers through hers, not taking his eyes off her. "Would you like something to drink?" he offered.</p><p>"Please," she breathed, holding his gaze still.</p><p>Nodding a little, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, leading her farther into the room. "Champagne? Or would you prefer something else?" he murmured.</p><p>"Champagne works," she told him quietly, holding on to his hand tightly as they walked, her eyes still on him.</p><p>He smiled warmly, leading her toward one of the waiters carrying trays of champagne glasses. "You really look stunning."</p><p>She couldn't stop herself from smiling back at him, "thank you," she said quietly, "so do you."</p><p>Surprise flickered over his features at the compliment and his smile brightened a little. "Thank you for agreeing to come," he told her just as quietly.</p><p>Chloe nodded slightly, "thank you for wanting me to," she told him, looking up at him still, it was usually hard for her to take compliments, mostly because she didn't feel she deserved them, but between the dress, the limo and being here with him, she did feel good.</p><p>"Chloe, out of everyone who's here...you're the only one I actually <i>wanted</i> to be here," he told her sincerely, picking up a glass of champagne and holding it out to her before getting one for himself.</p><p>She took the champagne and smiled, "considering I only know you and one of your <i>guests</i> and you're the only one I actually like, ditto." She told him, smiling before sipping on her drink.</p><p>He grinned, taking a sip of his drink, as well, his eyes bright. "We've already got quite a turn-out," he told her, glancing around at everyone and then back at her.</p><p>"I see that," she told him, taking a deep breath and, for the first time since her eyes fell on him, looking around. A lot of the guests were staring at him, but she did her best to pretend it wasn't bothering her, "I can't believe there are so many people here already."</p><p>"I think most of them are waiting for me to fall flat on my face," he told her, keeping his voice low.</p><p>"I get the feeling I'm much more likely to do that than you are, considering the heels." She pointed out, turning to look at him again.</p><p>He smiled at that, shaking his head. "I won't let you fall," he assured her, offering her his arm.</p><p>"I will take the support whenever it's available," she told him, taking his arm and smiling up at him.</p><p>Oliver met her eyes, unable to wipe the genuine smile off his face. "Always."</p><p>She smiled up at him and took a deep breath, "how are the donations so far?"</p><p>"Good," he told her. "Considering we just started. Already up to twenty five grand, and that was from one person."</p><p>Chloe blinked, surprised and stared at him, "that's amazing," she said sincerely.</p><p>"We make a good team," he told her, winking at her.</p><p>"Looks like you were right," she told him, smiling up at him, "how likely is it that people are going to keep staring at us all night?"</p><p>"Pretty likely," he admitted. "But if it makes you feel any better, I can tell you with absolute certainty that I am the envy of <i>every</i> man in this entire place right now."</p><p>She grinned softly and shook her head, her heart skipping a beat once more. "I think it's the other way around."</p><p>"Nope. I'm right," he told her with a grin.</p><p>"Definitely not," she told him, smiling and arching her eyebrows, "not as far as this goes." </p><p>"Hah. I guarantee you <i>I'm</i> not the one all the men are staring at," he informed her.</p><p>"Some might be," she pointed out, arching her eyebrows, "but I can assure you every woman in this room wishes they were with you, Mr. Queen."</p><p>"Too bad for them that I happen to the lucky guy who's already with the most beautiful woman here, Miss Sullivan." He raised an eyebrow at her.</p><p>She smiled at him and shook her head, "you're really stubborn, aren't you?"</p><p>"Incredibly so when I know I'm right," he confirmed, not noticing anyone approaching them.</p><p>"Well, ditto," she said, arching her eyebrows and staring up at him as she smirked.</p><p>"So being stubborn is something we have in common," he teased, smirking back at her.</p><p>"Apparently s--" She stilled when she was interrupted by a voice that both made her want to shudder and turn around and punch him.</p><p>"Oliver," Lex said, approaching them, "and Ms. Sullivan, what a surprise."</p><p>Oliver stiffened a little, unconsciously shifting a little closer to Chloe as he turned to face the other man. "Lex," he said, glancing at him. "I didn't realize you were coming."</p><p>"Oh?" Lex said in mock surprise, "I suppose my assistant must have forgotten to RSVP for me."</p><p>Chloe glanced at Oliver then turned to Lex, "I'm sure that's what happened."</p><p>"It's all right. I know how busy you stay with all your <i>friends</i>," he said with a knowing look, taking a sip of his champagne.</p><p>Lex chuckled at that, "Oliver, Oliver, you haven't changed." He turned to Chloe, "you, however," he said, arching her eyebrows, "seems it's been too long, Chloe."</p><p>"Not nearly long enough, Lex," she replied, her jaw slightly set as she arched an eyebrow at him.</p><p>He felt her tense beside him and he slid his arm around her without thinking about it. He couldn't help but wonder about the history between his pretty assistant and the bald billionaire.</p><p>"How about a dance to catch up," he told her, stepping forward and holding out his hand to her, "for old times' sake."</p><p>Chloe stared at him, then glanced at Oliver before sliding her hand in Lex's, doing her best not to shudder in disgust as she did, but she needed to know what he had to say and if she could use anything against him, it would be worth it.</p><p>Oliver's eyes narrowed a little as Lex led her away from him, sliding his arms around her.</p><p>"You're looking more sophisticated than I'm used to seeing you," Lex commented, his gaze sweeping over her.</p><p>"I'm not a high-school girl anymore, Lex." She told him, glancing up at him.</p><p>"No, now you're an <i>assistant</i>." There was a hint of a smirk on his face.</p><p>She wasn't surprised that he had done his research in the least, so she smirked back at him, "I’d rather be an assistant to Oliver Queen for the rest of my life than be your VP."</p><p>Lex's eyes darkened at that and he pulled her a little closer. "Then you're even more of a fool than I presumed," he murmured close to her ear.</p><p>This time, Chloe actually shuddered in disgust as his lips brushed against her ear and she pulled away to look at him, "it's called integrity, Lex. I would never expect <i>you</i> to understand."</p><p>He smiled faintly. "So is he Clark Kent's new replacement? Since Clark never wanted you, you're settling for him?"</p><p>"At least I upgraded," she told him, smirking at him, "Clark never wanted you, you went to Lana and even with all your tricks and mind games, she still left you. Have you finally come to terms that you will be alone for the rest of your life or are you still fooling yourself that someone will care enough to save you from becoming your father?" She said sharply.</p><p>His grip on her tightened ever-so-slightly, even as he smiled. "You really should be careful who you taunt, Chloe. There's no hero here to save you."</p><p>* * *</p><p>Oliver's jaw tightened a little as he watched Lex shift closer to her. His hands had unconsciously curled into fists at his sides. He had no idea what Lex was saying to her, but the look on Chloe's face said enough. He took a step toward them, intending to cut in.</p><p>"Your new right hand dancing with Mr. Luthor?" Edward Johnson stopped him, "your biggest competitor, Oliver, it looks like you might need to be careful with her."</p><p>Perfect. Just what he needed. "Oh, I'm not worried about <i>Chloe's</i> trustworthiness," he responded, giving the man a look.</p><p>"You should be," he told him, "the two of them seem to have an extensive history. I certainly don't plan on letting a <i>spy</i> bring down the company."</p><p>Oliver turned at that, pinning him with an icy stare. "Yes, I'm sure you expressed great concern over that when HR hired her and sent her to be my assistant without consulting me first," he said dryly. "Now, you'll have to excuse me."</p><p>"Just because you're personally interested in the girl," Edward called after him, "it'd be wise not to forget she's on your payroll, Oliver."</p><p>His jaw tightened as he walked away from the man, tapping Chloe lightly on the shoulder. Because if he tapped Lex on the shoulder and the man turned around, he was fairly certain he'd punch him in the face.</p><p>Chloe jumped slightly and turned her head, her expression and posture going from incredibly tense to slightly relieved.</p><p>"Your manners seem to have gotten even worse, Oliver," Lex commented, "I wasn't sure that was possible."</p><p>"Well, I'm not sure how rescuing a beautiful woman from <i>your</i> sad attempt at dancing is rude, but I think it's up to the lady to decide whom she'd rather be dancing with." He arched an eyebrow and looked at Chloe.</p><p>"I'm not sure I could stand being here for a second longer," Chloe said bluntly, pulling away from Lex and turning to Oliver almost instantly.</p><p>He smirked at Lex, sliding his arm around Chloe's waist. "Enjoy your evening, Lex," he said, leading her away from the other man. "Are you all right?"</p><p>Chloe took a deep, calming breath once they were away from Lex and nodded, "do you think we could step outside for a moment?"</p><p>Worried, he glanced toward the balcony. "Of course," he murmured, leading her toward the door.</p><p>She nodded a little and started toward it, managing to keep her pace slow and contained so it wouldn't look suspicious.</p><p>Oliver rested his hand lightly on her lower back as they stepped outside. "Are you <i>sure</i> you're okay?"</p><p>Chloe looked over her shoulder then took a deep breath and nodded a little, "yeah, just wasn't really expecting him to show up, I guess I needed better preparation."</p><p>"Did he hurt you?" he asked, stepping closer to her.</p><p>She frowned a little and shook her head, looking up at him, "no, just... I can't stand him."</p><p>He forced himself to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Makes two of us."</p><p>"He's up to something," she told him, lowering her voice as much as she could and glancing at him sideways.</p><p>Oliver glanced at her sideways, as well. "He usually is."</p><p>Chloe shook her head slightly and turned to look at him, stepping closer, "something big. I know Lex, he's not sure it will work, that usually makes him even <i>more</i> dangerous." She had to warn the boys as soon as possible.</p><p>He cocked his head to the side, watching her. "What do you think he's up to?"</p><p>"I don't know," she said, a determined look setting on her face as her eyes narrowed, "but I'm going to find out."</p><p>"Chloe." His voice was quiet, but serious. "Lex Luthor is more dangerous than he seems."</p><p>She focused her eyes on him for a moment and nodded, "I know exactly what he's capable of."</p><p>Oliver shifted closer to her, searching her eyes. "How?" he asked softly.</p><p>Chloe knew she couldn't tell him the truth, but if Lex was <i>here</i>, chances were, he was involving Oliver in whatever it was. "I used to live in Smallville, one of my closest friends growing up was best friends with Lex and my dad worked for him most of his life." She told him, holding his gaze.</p><p>He grimaced involuntarily at that. "I take it either your friend or your dad learned about Lex the hard way?"</p><p>Her jaw clenched and she nodded, looking away and taking a deep breath to control herself.</p><p>He watched her closely, seeing the pain in her eyes before she looked away. He reached up and gently touched her cheek. "What happened?" he whispered.</p><p>She shook her head slightly and glanced toward the main room then back at him, "I'll tell you," she said, "but not here."</p><p>"After?" he asked quietly, gazing at her.</p><p>"Yeah," she breathed, nodding slightly and looking up at him, "I just don't want him to realize I know something is going on."</p><p>"All right," he murmured, nodding as well and reluctantly letting his hand fall away from her cheek.</p><p>Chloe let out her breath and nodded slightly. Even in Star City, Lex could still reach out and ruin everything, she shouldn't have expected differently and he didn't even know what she'd been up to lately. That much she was sure of or she would be lying dead somewhere, victim of an unexplainable car accident or something similar.</p><p>"Do you think you might want to dance with me?" he asked, searching her eyes.</p><p>What she really wanted to do was sneak somewhere where she could have some privacy and warn the boys, but she knew that wasn't a good idea with Lex around, chances were, she'd just end up leading Lex to him or he might even end up listening to the whole conversation, besides, the moment she focused on Oliver, <i>really</i> focused on him and realized the way he was looking at her and how incredibly close he was to her, she felt her heart skipping a beat again and found herself nodding.</p><p>Oliver held his hand out to her. "Good. Because I've been wanting to dance with you all evening," he said softly.</p><p>She swallowed hard and looked down at his hand before sliding her own over it. His hand was so much harder, more calloused than Lex's but it felt warmer against her touch, so much safer and firm.</p><p>He smiled softly, rubbing his thumb lightly over the back of her hand as he led her back inside, sliding one arm around her waist and lacing his fingers through hers. "Been awhile since I've danced," he admitted.</p><p>"I don't think I've danced since high school," she told him. "Not with anyone decent anyway."</p><p>His eyes were bright. "I'll do my best," he promised, shifting closer to her.</p><p>Chloe pulled her hand from his and lifted her hands to his arms as she stepped closer, smiling slightly as she held his gaze.</p><p>He smiled back at her, searching her eyes as they danced together, not taking their eyes off each other.</p><p>Even though she didn't notice at first, she felt herself relaxing the longer they moved slowly with each other on the dance floor, completely blocking out all of the other guests and more importantly, any thoughts about Lex Luthor.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chloe and Oliver had stayed at the fundraiser until the last guest decided to leave. It had been an incredibly long night and her feet were hurting so much, she couldn't feel them anymore, but it didn't matter. Lex had vanished as had the annoying board members and Oliver had managed to raise three times the amount they'd been hoping for initially so it had been worth it.</p><p>Once they were done, Oliver insisted on taking her home on his regular car, which appeared to have been the plan all along considering the limo driver was nowhere to be found by the time the valet brought his car over in the hotel garage. She instructed him how to get to her apartment and once he parked, she invited him to come upstairs. She had promised him she'd tell him about Lex and her past and she at least knew for sure her apartment hadn't been bugged.</p><p>They entered the medium-sized one bedroom rental she'd been staying at, which was bigger than she'd have normally been able to afford but since she was in the city for team business, she felt like it'd be acceptable to use part of the leaked funds from LuthorCorp and the boys had fully accepted her decision, and she placed her small purse on the kitchen counter, "do you want something to drink? I have coffee and water?"</p><p>"Water would be great," he said, glancing around the apartment curiously. There weren't any pictures hanging up, but there was a desk in the corner, and a comfortable looking sofa in the middle of the living room. There was also a stack of unpacked boxes in the corner and he frowned a little, glancing over toward her. "Chloe?"</p><p>"Yeah?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen to get him water.</p><p>"Have I been making you work too many hours?" he asked uncertainly, stepping into the kitchen with a worried expression.</p><p>She blinked and cocked her head a little, frowning at him, "what? No. Why?"</p><p>"You haven't finished unpacking," he said softly.</p><p>"Oh," she smiled a little and shook her head. "No, that's not your fault, I just... hate unpacking." She told him, shrugging a little, "I unpacked everything I really needed and left the rest for later," honestly, she was too busy with the team and chasing after Green Arrow and yes, work, but the eight hours she spent at his office were actually the least demanding hours of her day most of the time.</p><p>Oliver relaxed a little, a small smile touching his mouth. "Yeah, it's not my favorite thing either."</p><p>Chloe handed him a glass of ice water and nodded a little, "I'll procrastinate on <i>that</i> for as long as I can," she told him, smirking softly.</p><p>He grinned, holding his breath for a moment as their fingers brushed together and he met her eyes.</p><p>She held her breath a little and stared at him for a moment then motioned to the couch, "should we sit down?"</p><p>He took a sip of the cold water, nodding a little. "Yeah, probably," he said softly.</p><p>Nodding too, she followed him to the couch, sighing softly as she sat down and immediately reaching to remove her shoes.</p><p>"You okay?" He gazed at her as he sat down beside her.</p><p>"Yeah," she breathed, rubbing her feet a little, "it just hurts when your feet are arched on the heels for so long and then you make them flat again."</p><p>He winced at that, shifting closer to her and patting his lap lightly. "Let me," he offered.</p><p>Her eyes widened at the offer and blinked, shaking her head, "oh, no, it's fine. It'll feel better in a couple of minutes." At least until she decided to walk again.</p><p>"Seriously. You're hurting because you did me a favor. Let me help," Oliver said softly.</p><p>While Chloe had no doubt the offer was sincere, she shook her head and smiled at him, "I'm okay, really, don't worry about it." It was bad enough that he kept getting all these reactions out of her that every time he held her hand or her eyes met his, her heart skipped a beat. That would be far too intimate, too dangerous. With a deep breath, she sat up and adjusted on the couch, "what did you wanna know?"</p><p>Sensing that she was uncomfortable and worried that he'd crossed a line he shouldn't have, he took a long drink, diverting his eyes from hers. "Whatever you wanted to tell me about Lex."</p><p>She took a deep breath and crossed her feet over the couch, adjusting the dress over her legs and looking down at her lap for a moment. "He showed up in Smallville my freshman year of high school, my dad was plant supervisor of the local plant when Lionel exiled him there. He didn't seem to be a bad guy at first, he started hanging out with my best friend at the time, Clark and they became pretty close so although Lex and I never really hung out, we knew each other." It was a very simplified version of the start of their relationship, but she thought better not to involve the meteor rock stories.</p><p>He watched her carefully, noting that she wasn't looking at him, that there was sadness in her tone. That suddenly she seemed more tired than usual.</p><p>She linked her hands together, focusing on her nails as she spoke, "during my sophomore year, Lionel enlisted me to help him in a pet project, he offered me a column at the Planet in exchange and I couldn't refuse the offer." She glanced at him, "I had been obsessed with working for the Planet since I was eight," she said, holding her breath then letting it out slowly, "I had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time, but it really didn't take me long to figure out."</p><p>Leaning back against the couch, Chloe pursed her lips together, "the summer before my senior year, I was determined to make Lionel pay for what he had done to me, he had taken away my column, trashed the high school newspaper that was pretty much the only place I spent any time at and not only had he fired my dad, but he had blacklisted him, making it impossible for him to find a job anywhere. I knew it was my fault, so I wanted to fix it myself, for him." Her voice wavered a little at that and she looked down again for another deep breath, "so I turned to Lex."</p><p>Oliver held his breath, gazing at her and hesitantly reaching out to lay a hand on her arm. "Did he help you?" he asked quietly.</p><p>She took a moment to control her emotions before answering, "we had a goal in common, he needed me to testify against Lionel during the trial and I needed his power and influence to be able to give my dad his life back, so we worked together to get Lionel behind bars."</p><p>He felt his chest tighten as he began recalling reading about something very similar to what she was describing. "What happened?" he whispered.</p><p>Chloe rubbed her hands over her face, her chest painfully tight, it didn't matter how long it had been, it would never hurt any less. "Lex sent my dad and I to a safe house," she murmured, "we knew Lionel's reach wouldn't be held by bars, so we had a plan. There was a safe house and underneath it, a tunnel that led to another house, seemingly abandoned, where we would really be staying."</p><p>She breathed deeply, "just as we were getting into the new house and getting toward the tunnel, there was an explosion, the agent that was with me managed to pull me forward but my dad..." she swallowed hard, shaking her head and leaving the sentence unfinished.</p><p>Oliver shut his eyes at that, sliding his arm around her hesitantly. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. Now that she was talking about it, he remembered reading about the young girl who'd testified against Lionel, about the explosion that had killed her father. He hadn't thought to dig any deeper into it than that--he'd only recently returned from being stranded on an island for two long years, and he'd been too caught up in living his own life to pursue more information than that.</p><p>Clenching her jaw to keep herself in control, she held her breath even as she leaned against his side slightly then nodded. "Thank you," she murmured, but that wasn't the point of all this, she needed to get Oliver to trust her when she told him him she knew what Lex was capable of so he would come to her if something happened, so she straightened slightly after a long moment, ignoring the tightness on her chest and how much she wanted to allow herself to just accept the comfort he'd been offering.</p><p>"Once it was safe, I went back to Smallville to finish high school, my cousin moved in with me and I kept contact with Lex to a minimum. I hadn't trusted him to begin with, I had no intentions of being anywhere around him once we didn't have business together anymore. Clark and Lex's relationship became strained too, Clark had his own reasons not to trust Lex and since he was pretty much the one friend Lex had, he became even more bitter over that."</p><p>He had no idea who this Clark guy was, but he definitely had the feeling there was more to the story where he was concerned. But that wasn't any of his business. He nodded, watching her closely and waiting for her to continue.</p><p>"So bitter that he tricked Lana, the girl Clark had been in love since he was six, into believing she was pregnant and marrying him." Chloe told him, "but since his friendship with Clark ended, Lex has been more on edge, especially since Lana left him. There's been a change, he doesn't feel in control anymore, he doesn't have the confidence he used to." With a deep breath, she finally looked over at him, "which makes him more desperate, unpredictable and dangerous." But it also made him more careless, which was why they'd been able to break out so many 33.1 subjects before one of them got hurt.</p><p>He was silent for a moment, then he looked down at his hands. "I guess some things don't change," he murmured.</p><p>At that, Chloe took a deep breath and turned to look at him, "what do you mean?"</p><p>"I mean, Lex has been a disturbed individual for a long time now," he admitted.</p><p>"You knew him in high school," it wasn't a question, she had done a lot of research on both men to know.</p><p>"Yes," Oliver said, nodding a little and staring at his hands. "I tormented him in high school." His voice dropped.</p><p>She shifted slightly to look better at him, "what happened?"</p><p>"He was a smaller kid. My friends didn't like him. And I was a jerk," he confessed, not looking at her.</p><p>"I bet he wasn't a saint either," she pointed out. If there was something she was incapable of, it was to feel sorry or have any sympathy towards Lex.</p><p>"He just wanted us to leave him alone. We didn't," he said quietly.</p><p>"There is only one person responsible for Lex being the way he is," she said firmly.</p><p>"You don't think a person's shaped by all the things that happen to them over the course of their lifetime?" he questioned.</p><p>"Of course," she told him, "but Lionel's influence on Lex is stronger than anything else in his life."</p><p>"Maybe," he murmured.</p><p>"You really think it's your fault Lex is the way he is?" Chloe frowned.</p><p>"I think I played a part, yes," Oliver confessed, looking up at her.</p><p>Chloe stared at him for a moment and shook her head, looking away from him, "high school can play a big part of most people's life choices and experiences but what Lex has become," she shook her head, "that's beyond a reaction to being picked on."</p><p>"He killed a kid," he said softly. "And we drove him to it." He rose to his feet, rubbing his hands over his face wearily.</p><p>She stilled at that and looked up at him, frowning slightly, "what happened?" She had done extensive research on Lex and she hadn't heard anything about <i>that</i>, although, considering Lionel, she was sure everything had been covered up.</p><p>He moved to stare out the window, leaning his forehead against the cool glass pane. He spoke quietly, telling her about Duncan, about how he and his friends had bullied both of the boys just because they could. About how Lex had wanted to make a deal with them to get them stop bullying him. How Duncan had told him they weren't worth it, and how Lex had flown off the handle and began beating the other boy. "It took all three of us to pull Lex off him," he whispered, staring blankly into the distance.</p><p>"You were teenagers, Oliver," she said, not even noticing she was using his first name. Mr. Queen just didn't feel fitting for the occasion considering they were sharing so much. "And so was Lex, which is why I can't fully fault him for <i>that</i>, but he's a grown man, one who doesn't care how many people get hurt as long as he gets things his way."</p><p>He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, turning to look at her, his eyes filled with guilt. "I know."</p><p>Chloe stood up, suppressing a wince as she put weight on her feet again, "Lex killed his own father," she told him, even if she believed Lionel deserved it for what he'd done to her dad, it was still a harsh reality, "that kind of anger and violence, it doesn't come from one situation."</p><p>Oliver lifted his gaze to stare at her. "Lex killed Lionel?" There was a hint of shock in his voice.</p><p>She held his gaze and nodded, "I have no proof," she told him, "but I know he did, Lionel had been involved with some things, some things that concerned Clark and Lex wasn't happy about the two of them growing closer." And neither was she, Lionel was the reason her friendship with Clark was more of a distant memory now than anything else.</p><p>"Wait." He shook his head a little, stepping closer to her. "Weren't you and Clark friends?"</p><p>"Yes." Chloe told him, her jaw clenching, "he believed Lionel had changed."</p><p>He stared at her, shaking his head. "Yeah, because murderers do that so often," he said sarcastically.</p><p>She looked at him for a long time, nodding slightly and taking a deep breath, "which is why I barely speak with him these days."</p><p>"I don't blame you there," he said, gazing at her.</p><p>Chloe nodded slightly and took a deep breath, "I think that's all I can tell you," she told him, watching him closely.</p><p>He rubbed the back of his neck. "So what is it you think Lex is up to?" he questioned.</p><p>"I don't know," she admitted, shaking her head slightly. "He seemed to vanish after we talked, but I can't see him showing up unless he wanted something."</p><p>Oliver considered that. "So I guess we just need to be on-guard then," he murmured.</p><p>"Yeah," she agreed, "it's a good place to start." Along with the research she'd been doing as soon as he was out the door, regardless of how exhausted she was.</p><p>He gazed at her for a moment, then nodded. "I should probably get going. I'm sure you're tired."</p><p>Chloe held her breath and nodded slightly, "it was a long night." She smiled slightly at him, "thank you for driving me back."</p><p>"You're welcome. Thank you for helping make the whole thing a success," he said sincerely.</p><p>"I just helped you," she told him quietly, "but I'm glad it went well and hopefully those bastards will leave you alone."</p><p>A small smile touched his mouth at that. "Here's hoping," he agreed, nodding. "Have a good night, Chloe."</p><p>"You too Ol- Mr. Queen," she caught herself quickly, even if being formal with him felt out of place, he hadn't told her she could call him by his first name and he was still her employer.</p><p>Oliver paused at that, turning to face her once more. "Oliver," he said quietly, smiling faintly. "Call me Oliver."</p><p>Chloe smiled softly at him and nodded slightly, "Oliver," she echoed, following him toward the door, "let me know if you figure out what Lex might want?" It was a long shot, but she wanted to know if there was a possibility he'd be in danger.</p><p>"Likewise," he said, nodding as he searched her eyes.</p><p>"I will," she said, nodding slightly, "have a safe drive back."</p><p>Oliver nodded, as well, hesitant, then leaned in and kissed her cheek lightly. "Goodnight," he said softly, turning and heading out of her apartment.</p><p>She stilled completely when he leaned in and held her breath as he pressed his lips to her cheek, her heart beating fast as she stared after him, her mouth suddenly dry. She had no idea why he had just done that but she was going to have an even harder time concentrating now considering she could still feel the impression of his warm lips against her skin.</p><p>With a deep breath, she shook her head and locked the door before starting the coffee maker and then making her way down the hall. Cold shower, hot coffee and research. She had to focus.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He landed soundlessly in the alley as he made the leap from the roof of a short building, firing an arrow at one of the men attacking the young couple. "Haven't you heard?" he asked wryly, as the now-pinned man stared at him with wide eyes. "Crime doesn't pay."</p><p>The couple, startled, stared at him for a moment before taking off in the opposite direction. And at the same time, three other men came out of the darker end of the alley, "told you he'd show up." One of them said, cracking his knuckles.</p><p>Oliver turned, raising his eyebrows behind his glasses even as he pulled another arrow from his quiver. "Oh, good. More fun for me," he said with a smirk. "Who's first?"</p><p>"How about you?" One of them answered, stepping forward and throwing a punch toward him.</p><p>He ducked, grabbing the guy around the waist and propelling him back against the wall, hard, gritting his teeth. "How about no."</p><p>Another man wasted no time in rushing after them and kicking Green Arrow in the back as hard as he could.</p><p>He grimaced, elbowing the man as best he could even as he was pulled backwards and punched hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Okay, he thought. Not turning out how I planned.</p><p>The first man he'd pinned against the wall had been freed and now all four of them were surrounding him, "lets kill the asshole, boys. For throwing Tony behind bars."</p><p>"Friend of yours?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.</p><p>One of the men behind him kicked him hard in the side and he shut his eyes for a moment.</p><p>A gun sounded a moment later and the guy who had kicked him had fallen to the ground, screaming in pain as he held to his shoulder, then the man next to him was pulled backwards and shoved, face first against the opposite wall of the alley.</p><p>Oliver wasted no time getting to his feet once more, turning and taking aim at one of the other two men, the one who had taken off running at the sound of the gunshot. He fired, his jaw tight as the arrow pierced his leg and sent him falling on his face as he screamed.</p><p>Chloe stepped forward and took care of the last one as well just as he started to run, she kneed him right on the crotch and elbowed him hard on the face, sending him unconscious to the ground.</p><p>He turned to face her, a surprised expression on his face. "<i>You</i>."</p><p>"You're welcome," she said, arching her eyebrows at him, as she lifted a hand to the communicator in her ear, "four down, send the cops, Cyborg."</p><p>Oliver stared at her for a moment, silent. Then, "Thank you."</p><p>She arched her eyebrows at him as the sirens sounded a moment later, "give me a ride?" She asked, looking up toward the roof.</p><p>Like he could say no now, considering she'd just saved his ass. Nodding, he moved toward her, wrapping an arm around her waist and firing an anchor line toward the roof, propelling them upwards quickly.</p><p>Chloe held on to him, holding her breath and grinning softly as she looked down then up at him again as they reached the roof.</p><p>He set her down carefully on her feet once more, staring down at her, not moving away.</p><p>She held her breath and didn't pull away either, "do you usually get your ass kicked like that, Arrow?" It had been a whole week since they'd met and with the fundraiser and Lex, she hadn't had much time, but when she saw him flying from the rooftop a few moments later and heading to the alley, she knew there was trouble so she didn't hesitate before making her way down there and she was glad she had.</p><p>"My hand to hand needs some work," he admitted. There wasn't much point in denying that.</p><p>"Understatement." She told him, her hands still resting over his arms since he was still holding her and there was that familiar smell again, really good, maybe slightly intoxicating smell.</p><p>"At least I can admit it," he pointed out, his muscles flexing beneath her touch involuntarily.</p><p>Chloe glanced at his arms when she felt his muscles and held her breath a little. Something about being behind a mask made it easier to be bolder. She slowly turned her head back to him, "I guess I don't have to try to explain to you the benefits of <i>teamwork</i> now, do I?"</p><p>A smirk tugged at his mouth. "I'm starting to see the benefit," he informed her, voice distorted. Without really thinking about it, he dipped his head and captured her lips with his own.</p><p>She stilled, eyes widening and she nearly pulled back but... his lips felt amazing against her and the second they touched her mouth, a spark of... <i>something</i> ran through her entire body, like an overload of what she could only describe as lust just took over and she found all rational thought leaving her as she kissed him back.</p><p>Oliver was a little caught off guard by the shudder that ran through him as she kissed him back, one gloved hand making its way up to the back of her head as the kiss intensified. Her hair was completely hidden by the hood she wore, and he found himself idly wondering what color it was, if it was straight or curly, if it <i>suited</i> her. After a moment he drew back, feeling shell-shocked.</p><p>Chloe sucked in a breath as they pulled back, eyes wide even though he couldn't see them and instinctively, she reached up to pull the hood further over her head, her heart slamming against her chest so fast, she could feel it. "What did you do that for?" She breathed after a moment.</p><p>"Thanks for saving my ass?" He was staring at her intently, his gaze dropping to her mouth again.</p><p>She licked her lips unconsciously, part of her screaming at her to pull back and away, but she ignored it since the rest of her was telling her to kiss him again. "Not the thanks I'm used to but I suppose it will do."</p><p>"Well, if you don't think it was thorough enough thanks..." He kissed her again, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.</p><p>Chloe made a quiet noise in the back of her throat as she kissed him back, her grip tightening over his arms this time.</p><p>Oliver's arms tightened around her waist, hauling her closer to him as he kissed her, deepening it slowly, urging her lips apart with his tongue.</p><p>She parted her lips under his and lifted a hand to the back of his head, over his hood as she pressed her body as close to his as possible, her tiptoes barely touching the ground anymore. She had no clue what was going on, she'd never made out with someone she barely knew like this before, but she knew she wanted more than this.</p><p>Not thinking about it, he hauled her off the ground, wrapping one of her legs around his waist as his tongue explored her mouth, his body responding quickly to her nearness.</p><p>Chloe didn't stop him, instead, she wrapped both legs around him, letting him pick her up completely. She'd never had a one night stand before either but tonight was sounding like an amazingly good time to start.</p><p>He groaned softly, walking her back toward the wall and pressing her up against it.</p><p>She moaned against his lips then pulled back, breaking the kiss because she couldn't breathe.</p><p>Oliver stilled as he realized what they were doing. His mind immediately flashed to the pretty blond who was working for him. Flashed to the feel of having her in his arms, dancing with her just a few nights before. His gut tightened involuntarily.</p><p>Chloe took a deep breath and rested her back against the wall but she felt the shift in him even though she couldn't see his face and it made her stop too. Slowly, she pulled her legs from around him and set her feet back on the ground. She was trying to recruit him, she had to gain his trust and respect, not... this.</p><p>"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, taking a step away from her.</p><p>"It's fine," she breathed, shaking her head a little, glad for the space. "I have no idea what that was but let's just... forget about it." It wasn't going to be easy considering how amazing his lips felt against hers, but she was good at pushing away her feelings and needs.</p><p>Oliver swallowed hard at that, giving her a short nod. "So this team of yours. How's it work?"</p><p>Right. Team. That gave her something to focus on. "We usually do our own thing as far as patrolling goes. I help lead them, notify them if a specific area needs help and direct them on how to get there." She had no idea what she was saying, her head fuzzy.</p><p>"All along the Watchtower," he murmured, his voice too quiet to be picked up by the distorter.</p><p>She cocked her head slightly at that, focusing her attention on him for a moment then shook her head slightly, "when we have bigger missions, we go in together."</p><p>"Bigger missions?" he asked curiously.</p><p>"You will learn about them if you decide to join us." She said firmly. She needed to pull herself together if they were talking business but she couldn't be sure that was going to happen without a cold shower.</p><p>He was silent for a moment. "If I join you, what do I have to do?"</p><p>The first answer that came to mind was far from appropriate so she took a deep breath and reached for her earpiece, pulling it off, "I'll give you one of these," she told him, "I'm usually working from a headquarters during patrol hours and through this, I can help you find people in danger, like I said."</p><p>He reached out and took it from her, their fingers brushing together, his chest tightening at the electricity that flowed through him. "So if I decide my answer is yes, I just talk into this?"</p><p>She held her breath and swallowed hard, nodding slightly. "I would have to get one made for you," she told him, "the others would come into town so you could all meet face to face, in costume of course," she told him, "and we would all go on a few patrols together so we can get used to working with each other."</p><p>He pursed his lips, studying the earpiece for a moment and handing it back to her. "All right."</p><p>Chloe took it from him and slid back in her ear, holding her breath, she couldn't help but wonder who he was and what it was about him that had her so overwhelmed. "Are you interested?"</p><p>"Yes," he said after another moment. "I'm interested."</p><p>Holding her breath she reached for her gun holster and pulled out a small earpiece from one of the pockets, holding it out to him, "this is only connected to my earpiece," she told him, "it's an older model, but you can still contact me through it."</p><p>He took it from her, sliding it into his ear and watching her for a moment. "I'm not sure how much help I can be," he admitted.</p><p>"You will understand once we let you in on the missions," she told him, taking a deep breath. "The others aren't in Star City at the moment," they were busy keeping an eye on Lex and making sure they knew exactly what he was doing at all times. "For now, you and I can patrol together. Do you come out every night?"</p><p>"Nearly," he admitted, nodding a little. "At least for a few hours."</p><p>"I'll have my earpiece on whenever I'm available," she said, nodding slightly, "call for me and I'll respond if I can."</p><p>"Likewise," he told her, watching her for a moment, then backing away, toward the edge of the roof. "See you soon, Watchtower."</p><p>"Goodnight, Green Arrow," she called, but didn't move toward him, letting him leave. By the way he had freaked out on her, he probably had a girlfriend somewhere. Or maybe was married with kids or something like that so no matter how amazing kissing him had felt, she had to completely forget about it and focus on having Green Arrow on their team so they could take Lex down and so that Oliver could be safe.</p><p>With a deep breath, Chloe lifted her hand to her earpiece and turned it back on, "boys?" She called, "we've got Green Arrow."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The following morning, Chloe got to work barely on time and she was relieved to see Oliver wasn't there yet because she needed some time. She'd spoken with the boys for a while after Green Arrow left and made her way back to her apartment, hoping it would help her stop thinking about him, but nothing seemed to work. She kept telling herself that if he had stopped them, it was for a good reason and that she shouldn't allow herself to want more because as amazing as kissing him had felt, everything else mattered more and she would never want to be the woman that took him away from his wife and two kids, which she had convinced herself existed.</p><p>Chloe took a deep breath and sipped on her coffee as she sat behind her desk and booted her computer, feeling more exhausted than she had in a while, her stomach had been in knots the whole night, even though she kept telling herself that she had done it, she'd recruited Green Arrow, which was why she was in Star City to begin with. The success of the mission didn't seem to matter nearly enough when she had to ignore the best part of the previous night completely.</p><p>Oliver made his way in slowly that morning, his back and ribs aching. He didn't think that he'd broken anything the night before, but he was definitely feeling it. Maybe now that he was joining an actual <i>team</i> of superheroes (which he was still marveling about), he'd have time to pick up some more training. His mind flashed back to the night before, to the kiss between him and Watchtower and he forced himself to take a deep breath. He stepped into the office, pausing when he spotted Chloe sitting at her desk. He swallowed hard, guilt sweeping over him. He slowly approached her desk and set down the large mocha he'd gotten her on the way there. "Morning," he said quietly.</p><p>She almost sighed in relief when she saw the fresh cup of coffee since she had downed hers on the way there, "thank you," she murmured, taking it from him and pausing when she saw the look on his face, "are you okay?" He looked horrible, even worse than she felt.</p><p>"Yeah. I'm all right," he told her with a small smile. "I just didn't sleep well last night." Which wasn't far from the truth. He <i>hadn't</i> slept well the night before. Not after his meeting with Watchtower. He'd gone home, taken a shower and gone to bed, but he'd spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, wondering who Watchtower was, and thinking about Chloe.</p><p>Nodding slightly, she trashed her empty coffee cup and picked up the fresh one, "seems to be going around," she told him, trying for a smile, her chest tightening a little. She felt a pull towards Oliver too, it wasn't as strong as kissing Green Arrow had felt but then again, she'd never kissed Oliver either. And she wouldn't. Not that it was even a possibility but she was obviously messed up as it was and they were both good guys and deserved someone less complicated, especially Oliver. Green Arrow already had his family anyway.</p><p>"You either?" he asked, cocking his head to the side and frowning a little, worried.</p><p>Chloe shook her head and shrugged slightly, "not really, it happens sometimes."</p><p>"Yeah, ditto." He stifled a yawn even as they stood there talking about it.</p><p>She smiled slightly and shrugged, "if you want to lock yourself in your office and nap, I won't tell," she promised.</p><p>A grin tugged at his mouth. "That's hardly fair to you."</p><p>"Well, we can switch in a couple of hours?" She suggested, smirking slightly.</p><p>He raised an eyebrow, considering. "Or you could take the couch, I could sleep in one of the chairs and we could lock my office door."</p><p>"I think that would look highly suspicious," she told him, arching an eyebrow.</p><p>"This would be where I remind you that we raised over a million dollars at the fundraiser we planned in nine days. Who cares?" He winked at her.</p><p>Chloe smiled softly at that and shook her head, "if I faceplant on the keyboard, I'll take you up on your offer."</p><p>"Deal," he said, winking at her.</p><p>She smiled and nodded at him, sipping on her coffee, "this should do for now."</p><p>"All right." He smiled back and headed into his office, setting his briefcase down by his desk.</p><p>She frowned when she saw he was walking stiffly and stood up, "are you hurt, Oliver?" She asked, her stomach suddenly tightening as one thought occurred to her: What if Lex had gotten to him and had hurt him? What if he didn't want to tell her out of pride?</p><p>He turned to look at her, suppressing a grimace. "Just a little stiff? I think I may be coming down with a bug of some kind." He swallowed hard.</p><p>"Oh," she said, rounding her desk, eyes widening slightly with worry as she approached him, "maybe you should go home, get some rest? Better yet, I'll make you an appointment."</p><p>Oliver held his breath as she got closer to him. "No, I don't want to leave," he said, shaking his head.</p><p>"Why not?" She frowned, "I doubt the board will come after you anytime soon."</p><p>"I just don't want to risk it," he told her quietly. And truthfully he knew he wouldn't get any sleep even if he did go home.</p><p>Chloe frowned and stepped closer to him, hesitating before pressing the back of her hand to her forehead, "you're kind of warm."</p><p>He inhaled sharply at the unexpected touch, then chided himself for reacting that way when she was simply concerned about him. "It's a little warm in here," he said weakly.</p><p>"Oliver..." she said quietly, shaking her head and dropping her hand, "let me call you a doctor."</p><p>"Thank you for worrying about me," he said just as quietly, searching her eyes. "I'm not entirely used to that," he admitted, pausing. "But I really am okay."</p><p>She took a deep breath and held his gaze for a moment, it wasn't her place to force him to do anything to she nodded slightly and went to his mini-fridge, picking out a bottle of water and holding it out to him, "I have tylenol, do you want some?"</p><p>Oliver reached out and took the bottle from her. "I won't say no to Tylenol."</p><p>Chloe nodded slightly and ducked out of the office, coming back a moment later with the bottle of it, "I meant it," she told him, holding it out to him so he could take as many as he needed, "lock your door, lay down, if someone comes by, I'll tell them you're in a phone conference."</p><p>He considered that for a moment. "And you'll wake me in a couple hours?" He popped the pills in his mouth and swallowed them down with a drink of water.</p><p>"Yeah," she promised, "before lunch." Which she would also make sure he ate, if he was sick he shouldn't be skipping meals.</p><p>"And then you can nap," he said, nodding at her.</p><p>"I have coffee," she said, smiling softly at him, "and I'm not sick. I'll be okay." She promised, setting the tylenol bottle over his desk then walking over to his window and shutting the blinds, it was still light, but made it slightly cozier, "rest." She told him as she turned to face him again.</p><p>Oliver gazed at her, his expression softening at her actions. "Will do," he promised.</p><p>Chloe relaxed at that and nodded, smiling softly at him, "I'll see you soon." She said, heading for the door.</p><p>"Thank you," he said quietly, watching her head away.</p><p>She closed the door behind herself and sighed softly, she was definitely worried about him and if he didn't look better by tomorrow, she would call him his doctor regardless of whether he wanted her to or not, but for now, she was glad she didn't have to be careful about not letting him notice she wasn't exactly in a great mood because of the previous night.</p><p>* * *</p><p>Oliver lay silently on the sofa in his office, his eyebrows furrowing as he heard someone calling his name softly. He mumbled something inaudibly, rubbing a hand over his face.</p><p>Chloe hadn't woken him up a couple of hours later as promise, instead, she waited until almost one, when the food she'd ordered had been delivered and slowly made her way into his office, where she now stood next to the couch. "Oliver?" She called again, gently placing a hand over his arm.</p><p>He opened his eyes slowly, his gaze immediately locking on her face, a soft smile touching his mouth. "Morning," he murmured.</p><p>"More like afternoon," she told him, smiling softly.</p><p>"Oh." Feeling a little dazed, he sat up slowly, rubbing his face.</p><p>"How are you feeling?" she asked, standing up straight and giving him some space.</p><p>"Kinda hungry," He admitted. And sore. But he didn't need to tell her that.</p><p>She smiled at that and reached for the bag over the coffee table, opening it, "I got you orange juice and chicken soup," she offered, "I don't know if you like it but it will be good for you."</p><p>"Sounds good," he told her, nodding. "What did you get for you?"</p><p>"Mac and cheese," she admitted, smiling a little. Comfort food sounded good at the moment.</p><p>Oliver couldn't help but grin. "Should've guessed that by now, shouldn't I?" he teased, shifting over to  make room for her on the sofa beside him.</p><p>Chloe smirked softly and shrugged, "I'm not really a soup person, so this sounded better," She said, taking the seat next to his as she finished unpacking their food.</p><p>He watched her for a moment, his brown eyes intense. "You're a good friend." His voice was quiet.</p><p>She blinked, a little surprised by the words then turned to look at him, ignoring the fact that the word 'friend' stung slightly. She was <i>not</i> going down that road again. "I just want you to feel better."</p><p>"Yeah, but did you know I can count on one hand the number of people who actually get soup for me because they actually <i>care</i>?"</p><p>Her face fell a little at that but she offered him a sad smile, "I don't understand why, you're a good guy. Great, even."</p><p>Oliver's chest tightened at that. "My reputation isn't the greatest," he said softly, looking down at the bowl in his hands, then over at her once more. "And I can't say it's because I don't deserve it."</p><p>"I've known you for what, almost two months now? And it's not a very long time, but we've seen each other almost every day and you haven't done a single thing yet to change my opinion of you." She said sincerely before taking a bite of her food.</p><p>He smiled softly at that. "Well, I'm trying to be a better person. I have more perspective than I used to," he murmured, taking a bite of the soup.</p><p>"I didn't know you before," she admitted, turning to look at him again and smiling, "but I think it's working."</p><p>He met her eyes. "Thank you," he said sincerely.</p><p>Chloe smiled at him and nodded slightly, turning back toward her food then glancing at him once more, "do you feel any better?"</p><p>Oliver nodded, as well. "Yeah. Much less tired," he told her with a soft smile.</p><p>"Good to know," she smiled, "maybe that was what you needed."</p><p>"Maybe," he agreed, nodding a little.</p><p>She took a bite of her mac and cheese then held out the container toward him, "do you wanna try it?" His soup wasn't nearly as interesting after all.</p><p>Oliver raised an eyebrow, then spooned a bite of mac and cheese, taking a bite. "Good," he commented, nodding.</p><p>"I know," she agreed, smiling at him, "surprisingly so."</p><p>He smiled back at her, his eyes brighter than they had been before.</p><p>Chloe held his gaze for a moment, studying him. He definitely looked a lot better than he had that morning, which was comforting and she herself felt better. She had managed to push the previous night away and focus on work for the past few hours and regardless of everything she may or may not feel, she was incredibly lucky to have Oliver Queen in her life and hopefully, Green Arrow would fit in with the team and that was what mattered.</p><p>* * *</p><p>Oliver rubbed the back of his neck as he sat forward at his computer. He sighed softly as he read over the email that Johnson had sent him, telling Ollie he needed an important report done first thing in the morning. How convenient that he'd waited til the last moment--again. Guess he wouldn't be patrolling tonight after all.</p><p>A little after five, Chloe made her way to Oliver's office, she frowned a little at the focused look on his face, "everything okay?"</p><p>He looked up, startled at her sudden appearance. "Yeah, I just...I gotta get caught up on a few things before I head home."</p><p>"Anything I can help you with?" She offered but for once, she hoped he'd say no. She wanted to have a meeting with the boys tonight before it was time for patrol and then, hopefully, she'd hear from the Green Arrow again.</p><p>He smiled faintly, shaking his head. "No, but thank you for the offer. I'll be out of here soon enough," he promised.</p><p>Chloe arched her eyebrows a little then nodded, "okay, well, give me a call if you change your mind."</p><p>"Will do. Have a good night, Chloe. Thanks for everything," he said sincerely.</p><p>"No problem, get some rest tonight," she told him, smiling softly, "and feel better."</p><p>"Will do," he assured her. "You get some rest, too."</p><p>"I will," Chloe smiled, watching him for a moment, "good night, Oliver. I'll see you tomorrow."</p><p>Oliver held her gaze, smiling faintly. "See you tomorrow."</p><p>Nodding at him once more, she smiled then made her way back to her office to grab her things and leave. Hopefully things would work out tonight.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Watchtower?" Victor called after a long moment of silence.</p><p>She hadn't gone out at all that night, not yet anyway. She had been helping the boys in their patrols and had been trying over and over again to contact Green Arrow through the communicator but she'd had no luck so far. It wasn't too late, just about eleven, but still. The times she'd seen the man around town, he'd been out already by now.</p><p>"Nothing yet," she told him, "maybe he's changed his mind. But if you guys are done for the night, go get some rest, it's later there. I'll wait for a couple more hours."</p><p>"No. Watchtower. I found something." He told her.</p><p>"You did?" Chloe said, sitting up and frowning instantly. "What's going on?"</p><p>"The cameras you set up at Queen Industry," he said, sounding worried. "That guy is there."</p><p>"What guy?" She asked, standing instantly, eyes widening.</p><p>"The one from the board. That Johnson guy."</p><p>"Is Oliver <i>still</i> there?" Chloe asked, reaching for her tennis shoes and pulling them on even as she started toward the door, only her earpiece in her ear.</p><p>"Yeah. Looks like he's still working. Chloe, something's not right. He's turned off all the security cameras in the building except for yours."</p><p>"I'm on my way, keep me updated," she said, her stomach turning as she ran her five floors down to the street level, not bothering with the elevator. "Who else is in there?"</p><p>"Just Oliver from what I can tell," he said uneasily.</p><p>She took a deep breath and nodded, "good, tell me if that changes." She got on her car and sped across town toward the Queen Industries building as fast as possible. Running red lights and nearly hitting a garbage truck, luckily it had been slow enough that she managed to drive around it and keep on her way without a problem.</p><p>Moments later, she was making her way into the elevator and pressing the button for the top floor hard, "Cyborg? Anyone else in there now?" She asked. Jaw tight. She realized halfway there that she hadn't grabbed any type of weapons, so she would either have to grab something from her desk to toss at them if needed or she'd just have to make do with her own hands.</p><p>Vic inhaled sharply. "Just the two of them. Watchtower?"</p><p>"Yes?" She said, holding her breath at his tone.</p><p>"He has a gun."</p><p>* * *</p><p>Oliver heard footsteps approaching his office and he frowned, glancing at the clock. It was after eleven, and he sincerely hoped that Chloe hadn't returned so late to check on <i>him</i>. But he couldn't imagine anyone else being around this late. He saved what he was working on and looked up in time to see Mr. Johnson standing in the doorway. He groaned inwardly. Seriously, did the man <i>ever</i> take a break?</p><p>Edward stepped inside and closed the door behind him, "Oliver," he said, he had a folder in his hand as he approached the desk, "good to see you're still here."</p><p>"Well, considering you waited until nearly four thirty to tell me you needed a report first thing in the morning, are you really that surprised?"</p><p>"Not at all," he smirked, rounding the desk, "just surprised you didn't disappoint like you usually do."</p><p>Oliver rose to his feet, his jaw tightening. "I'm done jumping through your hoops, Mr. Johnson," he informed him.</p><p>"Indeed you are," he told him, tossing the folder over Oliver's desk, "if you would be so kind to go over those documents, we won't be long here."</p><p>He glanced from the man to the folder, picking it up and beginning to read. He raised his eyebrows. "You want me to give the company to the board and step down as CEO?"</p><p>"It would be preferable if you did so without a struggle," he told him, taking the opportunity as Oliver begun to read to raise a gun with a silencer attached to the end of it to his temple.</p><p>"What the hell are you doing?" Oliver demanded, lowering the folder to the desk.</p><p>"Sit <i>down</i>, Oliver," he said, pressing a second gun against his ribs firmly, "you have over fifty pages to sign."</p><p>He winced involuntarily at the painful jab against his already bruised ribs. "What the hell makes you think I'm going to sign any of this?" He sat down in the chair, raising his eyebrows. "I sign, and you kill me. Or you kill me and nothing is signed."</p><p>"You sign, I stop with you." Johnson smirked, "you don't, your assistant and your ex are next."</p><p>He felt his stomach tighten even as his own smirk widened. "What makes you think I care? At least this way you won't be running my company."</p><p>"But I will, Oliver," he said, smiling as he pressed his guns harder against his back and temple, trying to force him against the chair. "Once they find your suicide letter."</p><p>"Except it won't work that way," Oliver responded coolly. "Because I have an airtight will. And Mr. Johnson? You're <i>not</i> in it, nor are you the person I've left the company to in the event of my death."</p><p>"Eliminating others won't be an issue, I can assure you of it." Edward told him, "once Cl- Claire, is it? Finds your body in the morning along with the letter, things will fall into place. Of course, that will be a long process I much rather avoid."</p><p>He ignored the fear in his chest, even as he sat back in the chair, watching the other man intently. "Sorry. I'm not interested in helping out the man who's about to murder me in cold blood."</p><p>"I <i>have</i> been giving you several opportunities in the past few months, Oliver. You stubbornly refuse to accept them and leave. Your father was as much of an annoyance as you have been."</p><p>His jaw clenched. "Well, if I'm following in his footsteps, then clearly I'm doing something right." He smiled thinly. "So in the end, you still won't have my company. What's in this for you?"</p><p>"Ending your line is a good enough start at this moment," he told him, shoving the gun against his back and temple once more, "get started."</p><p>Glaring at him, he folded his hands atop his desk defiantly. "Go to hell."</p><p>He hit the butt of his gun hard against the back of Oliver's head then pulled the gun from his back away, reaching for his phone and pausing for a moment then speaking when someone picked up, "get the assistant," he spoke into the receiver, "start looking for Mercer."</p><p>Oliver's vision blurred for a moment from the stabbing pain in his head, but he got to his feet shakily, picking up his scissors off the desk.</p><p>"Bring her here," he ordered, "Oliver needs some incentive, <i>DROP IT!" Edward ordered when he saw Oliver picking up the scissors and he was pointing the gun toward Oliver's hand, ready to shoot it out of his grip, when the door open.</i></p><p>
  <i>Victor had told Chloe their exact positions so she didn't blink twice as she ran into the room and jumped on the older man's back, an arm wrapping tightly around his neck as she pushed his arm away from Oliver, pointing the gun toward the window behind his desk, causing the glass to explode a moment later as the bullet shot through it.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver moved quickly, using the distraction to lunge forward and stab the older man in the shoulder with the sharp scissors, adrenaline rushing through him.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Edward Johnson groaned in pain and dropped the gun to the floor, his knees giving under him.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe tightened her arm around the old man's neck as he knelt down, "get the gun!" She instructed Oliver then reached to a paper-weight on his desk and hit Edward hard over the temple, knocking him unconscious.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>His head throbbing painfully, he did as she said, not even realizing that it was <i>Chloe</i> until the gun was in his hand and aimed at the unconscious man.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She grabbed the second gun, the one without the silencer, turned the safety on and slid it in the side of her pants, reaching for a supply closet in his office and grabbing tape before pulling the man's hands behind his back and starting to tape them together, then continuing a tape chain to his feet, binding the four together as closely as she could over his back.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"C'mon," she told Oliver, "help is on it's way, we need to get you out of here before someone else gets in here."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver was staring at her with wide eyes, speechless.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe kicked Johnson in the back of his head for good measure as well as to make sure he stayed unconscious until Vic sent in the cops, then looked at Oliver, blinking when she found him just standing there, staring at her. "Come <i>on</i>," she said again, taking him by the hand and dragging him out of his office, "we need to get you someplace safe." The boys were taking care of anyone who approached her apartment, well, Bart was mostly, so she knew Oliver would be okay in there.<br/>He followed along wordlessly, fully aware of her hand in his own. "What was <i>that</i>?" he asked, his voice full of shock.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She swallowed at the question but didn't stop as she made her way down the hallway and into the elevator, "I'll explain later." She told him. She didn't have to tell him about Watchtower but she had no way of getting out of telling him about the security cameras. Once they were inside the elevator car, she turned to face him, "are you hurt?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He couldn't take his eyes off of her. "No, I'm fine. Are <i>you</i> hurt?" he asked uncertainly. She certainly didn't seem like she was hurt, fortunately.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"No," she said sincerely, looking up at him and pursing her lips together, "but are you sure you're not? Because he didn't seem to be joking around."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He lifted a hand to his head, rubbing it gingerly and wincing a little. "I'll live. Thanks to you."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe blinked when she turned her attention to his head, more specifically, to the dark red spot on the collar of his shirt and stepped closer, lifting a hand to his shoulder, "you're bleeding."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Head wounds bleed a lot," he murmured, locking eyes with her.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"You shouldn't be bleeding at all," if she had been keeping an eye on him instead of trying to contact Green Arrow all night, she would have gotten there sooner.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I'm all right, Chloe. Really." He reached out, resting a hand on her shoulder, as well.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She took a deep breath and looked up at him, her chest and stomach tight as she swallowed and nodded slightly, "I'll take a look at it when we get back."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"How did you know that I was in trouble?" he asked, searching her eyes.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I'll tell you <i>later</i>," she breathed, holding his gaze, "it's not safe here."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver fell silent at that, nodding ever-so-slightly.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She squeezed his hand slightly, her heart still beating quickly against her chest as she glanced at the changing numbers on the elevator panel before looking at him again, "tell me if you start feeling dizzy."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He shifted closer to her, lifting a hand to her cheek and dipping his head, kissing her on the mouth, electricity making every nerve ending in his body come alive. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe stilled completely as he kissed her and for the second time in two days, she was both confused by the sudden kiss and shocked by how good his lips felt against hers. But she wasn't wearing her mask now and she <i>knew</i> getting involved with Oliver was a bad idea so even though she started to return the kiss, she stopped herself and pulled back and away from him, eyes wide, "what did you do that for?" She breathed, her entire body screaming at the sudden loss of contact.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Thanks for saving my ass?" he said uncertainly, not thinking about it until the words were out of his mouth. Then his eyes widened a little and he stared at her. No. No <i>way</i>.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Pausing, she stared at him, eyes widening even more as she stared back, pulling away completely. The kiss, the words, the reactions he got from her body the instant his lips touched hers. They weren't flashbacks, they were happening again. But... how could... he couldn't be. Oliver Queen was not Green Arrow. This had to be a freaky coincidence.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>By her reaction, he <i>knew</i> with absolute certainty that he was right. <i>Chloe Sullivan</i> was <i>Watchtower</i>. Feeling dazed at that realization, his mouth hung agape as he stared at her.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>A moment later, the elevator doors opened and she stepped outside, toward the garage, this time not taking his hand, "let's go," she urged. He was still in danger, whoever he was.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver followed her wordlessly, not taking his eyes off her small form. It made some weird sort of sense, he supposed. She'd come into his life about the same time that Watchtower had tracked him down that first night. They were the same size, had the same fighting skills. It was almost too much to contemplate. He followed her to her car, climbing in the passenger seat wordlessly and grimacing as his knees were pressed against the dashboard of her small bug.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She could feel his eyes on her the entire time, but she'd been doing her best not to look at him. It had to be him, she couldn't make sense of it or how she didn't even <i>see</i> this coming at all, but going by his reaction to her silence, it just had to be him. It wasn't until she saw him hitting his knees against the dashboard that she forced herself to look at him, swallowing hard, "there's a handle under the seat, you can push it back." She said even as she started the car.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Nodding silently, he pulled the handle beneath his seat and pushed it back as far as it would go, watching her intently. They had a <i>lot</i> to talk about, but he wasn't sure either one of them was actually ready for it.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>The ride back to her apartment was tense and silent. He followed her out of the car and up the stairs to her apartment wordlessly, holding his breath as he stepped inside behind her.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She double locked the door once they were inside and took a deep breath. She had seen Bart outside as she pulled up to her building so she knew they were safe up here. With a deep breath, she turned to face Oliver and did her best to mask everything she was feeling. There were more important things to focus on, "I have everything in the bathroom to clean the cut on your head and we can see if it's too big."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I think we have more important things to deal with than a little cut," he informed her.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Her stomach clenched at his words but she held his gaze, "we can do both at the same time," she said firmly, then started toward the bathroom.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He pursed his lips, following her down the hall and into the bathroom, raising his eyebrows as he leaned against the doorframe.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She pulled the toilet cover down and motioned for him to sit down as she dug through the cabinet, mostly to give herself time. She should be glad that Oliver was the Green Arrow, it made things a lot less complicated as far as explaining to him what she'd been doing and how she knew he was in danger, but the problem was that <i>both</i> of them had kissed her, and now she had all these... feelings and hormones that were confusing her more than the fact that her playboy employee was the man she'd been looking for all along.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Cocking his head to watch her, he moved to sit down on the closed toilet lid. "Journalist, huh?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe winced at that and took a deep breath, setting the kit over the sink, "it's not a lie."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"So instead of a double life, you used to lead a triple one?" he asked curiously.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"No." She picked up a soaked cotton ball and reached for the back of his head, nudging it forward slightly and wiping the wound carefully. "I haven't been writing, but I still have my degree."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He winced a little, but held his tongue at the stinging in his head. "I gotta say, I didn't see this coming."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Sorry." She said, not missing his wince then took a deep breath, "I guess I should be relieved you weren't able to tell, but I... didn't see it coming either."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver blinked, looking up at her. "Wait, you didn't know?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"No." Chloe told him, taking a deep breath. "I had no idea."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He was silent for a moment, looking puzzled.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She took a deep breath and shook her head, leaning against the sink as she focused on his cut for a moment. It was better to get it out there. "I came to Star City for two reasons, one of them was to recruit you. The second was to protect you from Johnson."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He stared at her. "But how did you know I was even in danger in the first place? And why did you care?" he asked, shaking his head a little as he tried to understand.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"One of the boys intercepted a deal here, he heard Johnson trying to hire a gunman. We dug into it and realized they were trying to take the company away from you and we didn't want Lex to gain access to Queen Industries technology." She explained, "and we knew there was a stronger possibility of that happening if the board was in charge."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"So you think Johnson was going to sell technology to Lex?" His eyebrows furrowed a little at that.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I don't know," Chloe said, "but it was a possibility and it's no secret Lex bid on your company just after you got back."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He considered that for a moment, leaning back. "I see," he murmured.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"At least now Johnson won't be a problem anymore and I'm guessing after this, you will be able to take more power from the board." She told him, blowing out a breath and trashing the cotton ball. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>"And Lex won't get a hold of our technology <i>or</i> my parents company."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"And I have footage of everything Johnson did and said," she admitted, finally turning to look at him, "we'll cut everything from the time the gun went off and it shouldn't be a problem."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>A small smile touched his mouth. "You're kind of amazing, you know?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Her chest clenched at that and she shook her head a little, "I'm just glad you're okay and that part is over with."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Thanks to you." He watched her intently, noting the wariness on her face.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe swallowed hard, then frowned slightly, "if you are him..." she said, cocking her head, "why didn't you fight Johnson?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He raised his eyebrows. "Well, for one, he had a gun against my head and one to my back. And I think we already established that hand to hand isn't exactly a strong suit of mine."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Right," she breathed, then shook her head a little, "but he's like...  in his mid-sixties."  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver shifted uncomfortably. "Two guns against someone who was unarmed. I didn't exactly like the odds, Chloe."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Yeah," she nodded slightly then winced, "you really have some training to do."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I'm afraid it's going to have to wait awhile," he said, sighing.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Why?" She frowned once more, this time worriedly.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver hesitated a moment. "I have a broken rib," he said with a shrug.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe stilled, eyes widening as she stared down at him, "you <i>what</i>? Why? What happened?" </i>
</p><p>
  <i>"From the other night when those guys decided to gang up on me." He shrugged again, not seeming overly concerned.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Oliver, you need to see a doctor," she said, frowning hard at him, "why didn't you say something?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He raised his eyebrows a little. "How exactly was I supposed to explain a broken rib that I got when I was out patrolling to my former-journalist turned assistant?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She blew out a breath and shook her head, "well, you didn't have to explain it to me, but I wouldn't have questioned it if you wanted to take the day off to go see a doctor." She said, reaching for his arm and urging him to stand, "and you shouldn't be sitting there, you need better support than this so you don't make it worse."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver rose to his feet, their bodies just inches apart. "I saw a doctor," he said softly. "It's how I knew it was broken."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe paused at that and looked up at him, she couldn't get out of the bathroom without pushing past him so she had no choice but to stay put, "you still shouldn't be putting so much pressure on it."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>A soft smile touched his mouth and he reached a hand up to cup her cheek, his thumb moving gently against her skin. "Do you always worry this much?" he teased gently.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She swallowed hard and stared up at him, "constantly." </i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I thought so," he admitted, dipping his head and kissing the corner of her mouth.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Her stomach clenched and her heart was racing once more. She wanted to turn her head and kiss him full on the lips more than anything but she shook her head and pulled back, "Oliver." She said quietly, stopping him. So maybe he didn't have a wife and two kids waiting for him at home like she'd forced herself to believe, but Green Arrow had still stopped things for a reason.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>His eyebrows furrowed a little. "What is it?" he asked uncertainly.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Maybe this isn't a good idea..." she said quietly, her jaw clenching as she looked away.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver paused at that. "Two people who like and care about one another isn't a good idea?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Her stomach turned even more at his words and she took a deep breath, "whatever made you stop the other night is still a reason. Whatever it is." Because she sure as hell wouldn't have pulled herself together enough to stop him and that made him so incredibly dangerous.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>A short chuckle escaped him involuntarily. "<i>That's</i> why you think this isn't a good idea?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe blinked at his reaction, turning to look at him and frowning.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Chloe, I stopped the other night because I felt <i>guilty</i>," he told her, shaking his head.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Guilty?" She echoed, shaking her head in confusion.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I felt guilty because I knew I had developed feelings for Chloe Sullivan," he told her, raising his eyebrows.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She stilled and stared at him, searching his eyes, half expecting him to tell her he was joking or something.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He gazed at her intently. "You can't really be that surprised," he said softly, shaking his head. "Can you?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Obviously," she breathed, shaking her head slightly as she blinked a couple of times, trying to take in everything that was suddenly changing.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I thought I was being kind of obvious," he admitted, his hand still resting against her cheek.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming herself then looking up at him again, holding his gaze this time, "I'm usually pretty blind when it comes to things like this." And if she noticed them she chose to ignore it.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>A small smile touched his mouth at that. "I'll keep that in mind," he promised, searching her eyes.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe searched his eyes right back, making sure he meant what he was telling her and when she found nothing but openness and honesty, she nodded slightly, "I still think you should sit down."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He grinned a little, then dipped his head, capturing her lips with his own, kissing her chastely. "Deal."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She sighed softly then placed her hand on his arm and tiptoed, kissing him once more but kept it soft and short. She didn't want to hurt him and she still had a lot to process.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Come on, Gorgeous," he murmured, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Let's go sit down."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe arched her eyebrows a little and nodded, "do you need to lay down?" She offered, starting out of the bathroom with him.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"No, I think I'm all right. Besides, I think we still have some things to discuss." He reached down and took her hand in his, linking their fingers together.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She glanced down at their hands and took a deep breath, nodding slightly, "I guess we do." She wished she wouldn't feel as nervous as she did, but she couldn't stop herself.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He led her down the hall and into the living room, slowly sitting down on the sofa and looking up at her with a soft smile.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She held his gaze and her breath, trying for a smile. "Do you need anything? Water? Ice for your head?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He shook his head, patting the spot next to him.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe hesitated then sat down next to him, keeping her eyes on his face as she shifted on the couch with some distance between them.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Are you all right?" he asked, taking note of her hesitation.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Yeah," she breathed, "just trying to make sense of all this."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"It is a lot to take in," he agreed quietly, watching her.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Yes," she told him, "you seem to be dealing just fine, though."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver shrugged a little. "After spending two very long years alone on an island in the middle of nowhere, not a lot fazes you," he told her.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She nodded slightly and took a deep breath. That did make sense, "are you still planning on joining the team?" She asked, pulling her earpiece from her ear at last. She had cut communication when she went since she knew Vic could keep an eye on them through the cameras anyway.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He gazed at her. "Yeah, if you really want me."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Yeah," she said sincerely, placing the earpiece on the coffee table before looking at him again, "this should make it easier."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"How did you get started in all this?" he asked curiously.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She took a deep breath, being able to be honest with him was going to take some getting used to, "since Lionel killed my dad I started researching and trying to find ways to bring him down and make sure he couldn't hurt anyone anymore," she told him quietly, "I met some of the other team members while trying to stop him and Lex and we kind of banded together since we all had a goal in common."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver gazed at her, listening intently. "What's their motivation to take down Lex?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"There is a lot about them I can't tell you yet," she said quietly, looking at him, "things I'm sure they will tell you once you gain their trust, but they were all taken in at some point by Lex or Lionel. To be tested on."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He blinked, staring at her. To be <i>tested</i> on? He wondered if he'd heard her correctly, but by the grim expression on her face, he had. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, rising to his feet. "Lex is testing on people? Without their consent?" His heart began to pound heavily in his chest.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She blew out a breath and nodded, "yes. And it's a huge operation. Dozens of labs spread all over the world. We've been going in and pulling subjects out since we rescued our newest team member from one of them, Impulse."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"This is what you meant when you said something bigger than stopping muggers, isn't it?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Pursing her lips together, she nodded slightly, watching him closely.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver rubbed a hand over his face, his mind racing with the new information. "How do I sign up?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"I'll tell you everything I can," she nodded, smiling slightly at that, "but we have time since we still need your ribs to heal."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"And I need to train." He paused. "How do you guys handle that?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"They trained me. I took some classes on self-defense but they helped me and we can help you." She assured him, "you already know a lot from what I've seen, but you just need to be able to focus more."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, nodding as he gazed at her.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Think that's enough to process for tonight?" She asked carefully.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>A small smile tugged at his mouth. "Probably."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe smiled back at him and nodded a little, "are you sure you don't want something to drink or... are you hungry?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"No, I'm good," he assured her, slowly sitting down beside her once more.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She nodded slightly and looked up at him once he was sitting next to her. A lot closer than before, "the others are taking care of Johnson and whoever he was contacting," she told him, "but you should be safe here until they are done."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver smiled at her. "With my own personal superhero," he murmured, one hand lifting to her cheek once more.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe held her breath at that and reluctantly leaned into his touch, keeping her eyes on him.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He leaned in and kissed her softly, brushing his nose against hers.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>She relaxed slightly and leaned closer, kissing him back just as softly, not wanting to hurt him or lose control since that was apparently very likely to happen. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Oliver smiled against her mouth, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. "I like this," he whispered.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Chloe took a deep breath then smiled, watching him as well as she could considering how close they were, " not bad at all," she admitted. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He simply grinned.</i>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <i>~The End~</i>
</p>
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